Huayu Entertainment Starts with Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu

"In 224 BC, the crucial battle for the Qin Dynasty to conquer the six states began."

"The King of Qin mobilized the entire nation's resources, appointing Wang Jian as general to lead a large army to attack Chu, putting the state of Chu in imminent danger."

"General Xiang Yan, who had won many battles against the Qin state, was given a guardian-like aura. However, this time, Xiang Yan, the commander of the Chu army who struck fear into the hearts of the Qin army, led 100,000 Chu soldiers to confront 600,000 Qin soldiers for a whole year, fighting to the death and delivering the final blow to Qin Shi Huang, who was sweeping across the six kingdoms."

"In the final battle, Xiang Yan, a renowned general whose forces were waning and who was outnumbered, uttered a vow that sounded like a curse in his last moments before he died: 'Even if Chu has only three households left, it will surely be Chu that destroys Qin!'"

This is the narration for the opening credits of the first episode of "The Legend of Chu and Han".

and then?

Then Xiang Yan committed suicide and died!

The familiar formula, the familiar taste, Gao Xixi is coming with devilish steps, "Legend of Chu and Han" is finally about to premiere.

Filming wraps up at the beginning of the year and the series premieres at the end of the year; this is roughly the typical production cycle for a TV series.

Where is it broadcast?

The production cost of "Legend of Chu and Han" was 240 million yuan, with a total of 80 episodes, averaging 3 million yuan per episode. No single TV station could afford to produce such a series on its own.

Therefore, we can only "share" the content.

The current policy of the State Administration of Radio and Television for broadcasting TV dramas is "4+X", also known as "one drama on four channels".

This means that a drama can be broadcast simultaneously on a maximum of four satellite TV channels during prime time, plus several local channels that do not broadcast on satellite TV.

There are policies and measures to counter.

As long as it's not during prime time, satellite TV stations can circumvent the "one drama, four channels" rule and call it "1.5 cycles".

That means other shows start broadcasting at 7:30, while yours starts at 9:30.

For such a big production as "The Legend of Chu and Han," the most important thing is who to sell it to; otherwise, it will be a huge loss.

The filming was planned well in advance.

The production companies for this drama include five television stations: Hunan TV, Anhui TV, Zhejiang TV, Tianjin TV, and Beijing TV.

Following the "4+1" approach, it is possible to broadcast simultaneously on five major satellite TV channels.

Just when things were about to get to the point, Gao Xixi received some bad news.

"We're not buying Hunan TV anymore."

"Ah, why?"

Hunan TV is widely recognized as the strongest local TV station, second only to CCTV. If it didn't buy the rights, its revenue would be significantly reduced.

Ouyang Yang is also one of the producers of "The Legend of Chu and Han".

Gao Xixi naturally wanted to confront them.

"We watched the sample footage of 'The Legend of Chu and Han' and found that it was different from what we had expected."

"Your drama is a historical drama with a serious tone, and you know the tone of Hunan TV. We have never had a good result when we broadcast this kind of drama."

"The series 'Ming Dynasty 1566' from a few years ago lost its audience and the station held several review meetings."

"Besides, the station is now emphasizing exclusive broadcasts of dramas and doesn't want to share broadcasts with other TV stations."

"We don't want 'The Legend of Chu and Han'."

What is the tone of Hunan TV?

It's just a romantic idol drama.

Gao Xixi cursed inwardly, "A wild boar can't eat fine chaff; young viewers are just fed shit by you bunch of bastards."

However, now is not the time to talk about this.

They were still hoping they would pay, so Gao Xixi could only go along with them.

"Idol dramas? We have those!"

"Where?"

Gao Xixi quickly found the scene of Xiang Yu and Yu Ji from "The Legend of Chu and Han" and showed it to them.

"Isn't this it?"

"Whoa!"

Hunan TV specializes in idol dramas, so they naturally have a good eye.

This version of Xiang Yu and Yu Ji is handsome and beautiful. What's most amazing is that the scenes of the two of them falling in love have a very high quality, almost unlike the style of other characters.

How was it filmed?

Regardless of the reasons for this, if viewed on its own merits, it is indeed a high-quality romance drama.

The issue is……

"The roles of Xiang Yu and Yu Ji in your drama are far too minor!"

The two first met in the second episode of "Legend of Chu and Han". Hunan TV had already noticed this, but in the entire 80 episodes, their combined screen time was less than three hours.

"Not enough? You can add more!"

It's common for TV stations to re-edit a show after buying it.

Gao Xixi not only agreed to increase the screen time for Xiang Yu and Yu Ji, but also expressed her willingness to provide all the footage they filmed together.

Cut it yourself, add whatever you like!

His sincerity has put Hunan TV in a real dilemma.

To broadcast or not to broadcast?

If you never intended to broadcast it in the first place, then there was no need to invest in it in the first place.

Hunan TV thought about it again and again, and then suddenly had an inspiration.

"This Xiang Yu looks familiar... I feel like I've seen him somewhere before. Do you guys remember him?"

"I know."

"speak."

"It's Yu Zheng's 'Legend of Lu Zhen,' where he plays the second male lead."

"I remember now, it's him!"

"Dead Girl" is a close ally of Hunan TV. After "Palace," almost all of his dramas were broadcast on Hunan TV, and he has indeed become very popular in the last two years.

"Legend of Lu Zhen" is one of Yu Zheng's major productions this year.

Although the broadcast is scheduled for May, which is still a long way off, the station has been paying attention to it since filming began.

Yu Zheng's second male lead...

This difference in price can be considered a bargaining chip, although it may not be very significant.

The main reason is that "Legend of Chu and Han" aired before "Legend of Lu Zhen," otherwise we could have decided based on the latter's reception.

still have a question.

"If we don't air 'Legend of Chu and Han,' what will we air during this originally scheduled time slot?"

"Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties"

The entertainment industry is indeed addicted to following trends. Jiang Yang's uncle just filmed "Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties", and now another one, "Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties", has popped up.

It's not just a movie.

The male lead in "Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties" is Zhang Weijian.

Ten years ago, this bald man would have been the most popular Hong Kong star in the mainland Chinese TV drama industry, perhaps even the most popular.

But it's already 2012.

Zhang Weijian was blamed for the "beating of the White Dragon" incident in "The Little Fish and the Flower Without Flaws," and his career plummeted after that, with no dramas airing for several years.

What appeal do has a has-been star have?

To put it bluntly, "Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties" was just a filler drama, and it wasn't expected to be a hit.

After careful consideration, Hunan TV made its decision.

"We can broadcast 'Legend of Chu and Han,' but we won't compete for the premiere; let's buy the 1.5-run slot instead."

In other words, they will be broadcasting during the nighttime slot.

Fine.

Gao Xixi accepted the result. Buying a 1.5-wheeler was better than not buying at all, so the negotiation had been effective.

On the other hand, when I decided to cast Jiang Yang as Xiang Yu, I never imagined that one day, it would be thanks to him that the project would sell.

He truly is my lucky charm!

Of course, Gao Xixi was still laughing in her heart.

As a historical drama, "The Legend of Chu and Han" is criticized for its focus on the romance between Xiang Yu and Yu Ji, which is clearly used to pad out the runtime.

Hunan TV did the opposite, specifically because they bought the rights to the story of Xiang Yu and Yu Ji.

Buying the casket and returning the pearl!

Hunan TV didn't mind his mockery.

Historical drama viewers?

Sorry, we don't have any historical drama audiences here at all.

Buying the box and returning the pearl...

It's still uncertain whether the box is the casket or the pearl.