Rebirth 09: Starting from taking charge of Running Man on CCTV

……

The next afternoon, in the suburbs of the capital.

The film crew's residence for "My Brother is Called Shunliu" was a converted old factory building.

Several prop military vehicles were parked in the yard, their green paint peeling and their tires covered in mud.

Ma Li walked in front, and Chen Yang followed behind.

Wang Baoqiang's agent, Lao Song, was waiting at the main entrance and led the two through the props area into a temporary prefabricated room that had been converted into a rest room.

Wang Baoqiang sat on a military bench, still wearing his costume, a patched coarse cloth military uniform, his makeup still on, with a layer of grayish-brown foundation on his cheeks.

Seeing Chen Yang enter, he stood up briskly and extended his hand.

"Hello, Director Chen!"

His voice was loud and clear, carrying that signature down-to-earth quality.

"Brother Baoqiang." Chen Yang smiled as he grasped his hand.

"You came to see us without even changing out of your costume, you must be tired."

"It's not hard at all."

Wang Baoqiang rubbed his hands together and pointed somewhat embarrassedly to the makeup on his face.

"I just finished filming a scene, and the director was rushing me so I didn't have time to take it off."

Ma Li sat down and placed the project introduction, copies of approval documents, and letters of intent on the table one by one.

"Teacher Baoqiang, Sister Ma mentioned the situation on the phone before. Today we'll mainly discuss the specific details."

Wang Baoqiang nodded and listened attentively.

Old Song, after flipping through some documents, frowned and spoke up.

"Sister Ma, Director Chen, we've looked at the project, and it's really good."

"But Baoqiang's 'Shunliu' will be on CCTV-1 next month."

He lowered his voice and spoke very carefully.

"Shunliu is a soldier, a tough guy, and Baoqiang really managed to establish this image."

"If you go on a variety show and roll around on the ground and play games, the audience will see that you are completely different from the person in the TV series."

"Won't this contrast...damage the character's image?"

Just as Ma Li was about to respond, Chen Yang gently tapped the edge of the table beside her.

Ma Li immediately understood and gave the lead.

"Brother Qiang."

Chen Yang leaned forward slightly, looking at Wang Baoqiang.

How many roles have you played on screen?

Wang Baoqiang thought about it.

"Several."

"Fengming in 'Blind Shaft,' Shagen in 'A World Without Thieves,' Abing in 'The Plot,' and now Shunliu."

Chen Yang counted on his fingers.

"These characters have one thing in common, do you know what it is?"

Wang Baoqiang blinked and shook his head.

"After watching it, ordinary people will say, 'This actor acted really well.'"

Chen Yang retracted his fingers.

"But they don't know what kind of person Wang Baoqiang is."

Wang Baoqiang's expression changed slightly.

"Brother Qiang, what's your personality like in private?"

"I..." Wang Baoqiang scratched the back of his head.

"It's... pretty ordinary, nothing special."

"Yes." Chen Yang smiled.

"Ordinary, down-to-earth, unpretentious, and unpretentious."

"This is a side of Wang Baoqiang that the audience has never seen before."

He leaned forward half an inch.

"You played a tough guy in the show, and the audience got to know Shunliu. But Shunliu is not you."

"What I'm giving you in this program isn't another role, but to let 1.3 billion people see the real Wang Baoqiang."

"Look at Wang Baoqiang, who isn't a movie or TV character."

"These are things that no TV series can give you."

Chen Yang withdrew his hand and leaned back in his chair.

"Brother Qiang, Shunliu will be on CCTV-1's prime time slot next month. Our program is on CCTV's variety channel during prime time."

"On the same platform, in the same time slot, both TV dramas and variety shows are being produced simultaneously."

"After watching Shunliu, the audience will watch the real Wang Baoqiang on Saturday night."

"What's this called?"

He looked into Wang Baoqiang's eyes.

"This is called three-dimensional."

"A character can only be remembered for a short time, but a three-dimensional person can be remembered by the audience for a lifetime."

The prefab house was quiet for a few seconds.

The air was filled with the smell of dust from the props and military uniforms, and the heat of summer.

Wang Baoqiang lowered his head and thought for a while.

When I looked up again, my eyes were clear and bright.

"Director Chen, you're right."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was very firm.

"I play other people every day on set, and I've been doing it for so long."

"No one has ever asked me to play myself."

He turned and glanced at Old Song.

Old Song opened his mouth, looked at Chen Yang, and then at the letter of intent laid out in Ma Li's hand.

After hesitating for two seconds, he nodded.

"Sign it."

Wang Baoqiang took the pen from Ma Li and signed his name at the end of the contract.

His handwriting was crooked and messy, just like his honest personality.

"Director Chen."

"Um?"

"Does our show really have to involve rolling on the floor in frustration?"

"That depends on whether you can outrun Zheng Kai."

Who is Zheng Kai?

"A young man who can run faster than you."

Wang Baoqiang grinned.

"Then I need to practice."

……

Four o'clock in the afternoon.

Chen Yang returned to the office area on the twelfth floor.

The moment he pushed open the door, he sensed that the atmosphere had changed.

The entire office area felt like it had been wound up tightly.

Zhang Lei was drawing a flowchart in front of the whiteboard, surrounded by five or six executive directors.

Zhao Bin was debugging equipment in the post-production server room, the keyboard clattering loudly.

Xiao Wen came out of the conference room carrying a stack of scripts. When she saw Chen Yang, she gave him a thumbs up from afar.

The news has spread.

All seven MCs are in place.

Chen Yang stood in the center of the office area and scanned the surroundings.

He didn't say anything to boost morale.

No need.

Everyone knows that the MCs are finally all together.

Is it time to record right away?

But his mind had already moved on to the next question.

The lineup is set.

What about money?

He knew better than anyone how terrifyingly fast the budget for A-list outdoor variety shows could burn through.

The expenses include: actors' salaries, location fees for shooting in different cities, transportation, accommodation, meals, daily expenses for a team of over 100 people, equipment rental, post-production...

The station's funding isn't even enough to fill a gap in the roof.

We must start attracting investment immediately.

He walked back to his desk and pulled out a project plan that was as thick as a brick from the drawer.

Then he picked up the landline on the table and dialed an internal line.

"Chen Xi, come to my office."

Thirty seconds later, Chen Xi pushed the door open and came in.

She was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she was holding a half-cold cup of instant coffee.

"Director Chen, were you calling me?"

Chen Yang slammed the project proposal onto the table.

"Come out with me tomorrow."

"Where to?"

"The younger generation".

Chen Xi almost dropped her coffee.

"The 'post-wave'? Which 'post-wave' is the one from Houlang.com?"

"right."

"Where are you going?"

"Get them to invest money."

Chen Xi's expression changed from surprise to confusion, and then from confusion to a blank stare, as if to say, "Did I hear that right?"

"Director Chen, are you serious?"

"When have I ever not been serious?"

Chen Xi placed the coffee cup on the corner of the table and rubbed his hands together.

"But... internet companies spending money on promotion and distribution for variety shows, that's..."

She carefully considered her words.

"Nobody's done this before, right?"

"So we're the first."

Why should people believe us?

"Just because of this."

Chen Yang tapped the cover of the project proposal with his finger.

"Tonight, give me a rundown of Houlang's financial reports, user profiles, and strategic moves over the past three years."

Chen Xi was stunned.

"The younger generation? Director Chen, we make television programs, trying to get their investment? This...this doesn't apply. Shouldn't our sponsors be car companies, milk companies, and fast-moving consumer goods companies?"

"Cars and milk? That's stuff from the past."

Chen Yang leaned back in his chair and looked at her.

"Tell me, where is all the hottest money in all of China flowing right now?"

Chen Xi thought for a moment: "...Real estate? Finance?"

"And another one, the Internet." Chen Yang tapped his finger on the table. "A new concept can get millions or tens of millions of dollars in investment. That's the biggest trend right now."

He leaned forward slightly.

"Think about it again. What have we been doing with our publicity methods in the past? Holding a press conference, inviting some newspaper and television reporters, and then what? It's too inefficient! But what about the future? In the next five or ten years, where will the main battleground for publicity be?"

Chen Xi's breath hitched; she understood: "...It's the Internet."

"Yes!" Chen Yang's eyes lit up.

"They have money, and they have the online promotional channels we need most. But they also lack something: top-tier content that can truly enter the mainstream public eye and be presented in a respectable way. And what do we have?"

He pointed to the plan.

"We have CCTV's platform, prime-time programs, and celebrities. We can provide an internet company with mainstream media endorsement and offline influence that no amount of money can buy."

"By collaborating with them, we can help them build their brand, and in return, they will invest in us and provide us with promotional resources. This is a win-win situation."

Chen Xi gripped the coffee cup tightly, her knuckles turning white.

She stared at Chen Yang for three seconds, her mind a jumbled mess. This idea was too wild; she'd never heard of it before.

"But Director Chen... no internet company has ever invested in variety shows before, they can't even keep burning through their own money..."

Chen Yang smiled.

"The fact that we've never had one before means we're the first, and it also means this is the biggest piece of the pie."

He stood up and stuffed the proposal into his briefcase.

"Get the materials ready tonight."

"See you downstairs at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

Chen Xi took her coffee cup and went out the door. After taking a few steps, she turned back and glanced at Chen Yang's office.

The light is still on.

The young man sat at the table, opened a blank investment proposal, and began to write.

Chen Xi turned around and quickened her pace.

There was only one thought in my mind.

To get an internet company to invest in a TV variety show that's barely even started.

This sounds like a fantasy.

But for some reason, she felt that if it were this person who spoke...

Maybe it really can work.

......

P.S.: Let's discuss, what celebrity? Song? Movie/TV show/TV series ...