Chapter 165 Chain Reaction
Time goes back to a quarter of an hour ago.
At the same time that Feng Xiaoning convened a meeting of the main creative staff, the celebration banquet for "Heavenly Sword" was also being held in full swing.
Tianjian has sold the third round of broadcasting rights so far, with total revenue approaching 30 million, and it is expected to reach around 35 million by the end of the year - the price will be lower as the number of subsequent rounds increases.
This kind of hit drama usually has a long lifespan, and it is expected to generate millions of dollars in revenue in the future, which is equivalent to more than doubling the revenue.
All the investors were smiling happily. The vice president of Lao Baigan specially brought 500 kilograms of raw liquor, saying that everyone could take away the leftovers.
While they were having a great time, Zeng Lai suddenly came over and said, "I heard from Yi Yan that you are also going to join the Zhu Yuanzhang crew, so won't we be in the same crew again?"
"Ok?"
Xu Kun was a little surprised when he heard this. He only heard that Hu Jun would play Zhu Yuanzhang, but he didn't pay attention to who would play the other roles.
I immediately asked curiously: "Who are you playing? It's not Queen Ma, right?"
While asking this question, he was a little hesitant. The incident of seducing his eldest sister-in-law had just passed, and the two of them were to continue playing husband and wife in the Zhu Yuanzhang crew.
At her age, and my age, there are people who can talk but don’t listen. Their tongues can kill people, and they can’t be washed away even if they jump into the Yellow River…
"of course not."
But Zeng Lai said, "I play the second female lead, Concubine Ning, Zhu Yuanzhang's concubine and also a female general. I heard from the casting director of Hualu that he chose me so quickly because he watched the finale of "Heavenly Swordsman".
"Hua Lu? What Hua Lu?"
Xu Kun was puzzled: "Isn't this drama sponsored by China International Television Corporation?"
"No way?"
Zeng Lai was also confused: "I heard that it is the original cast of Emperor Wu of Han, with Chen Baoguo playing Zhu Yuanzhang, Tang Guoqiang playing Guo Zixing, and Xu Fan playing Empress Ma..."
“Wait, wait!”
Xu Kun was completely confused. What on earth was going on?
If it was really this lineup, he would never humiliate himself - he could still compete with Hu Jun, but to compete with Chen Baoguo who was at the peak of his career, how stupid would Xu Kun have to be to think he could win?
The two of them talked nonsense for a long time before they finally realized that they were not talking about the same crew at all. In other words, two Zhu Yuanzhang films were going to be launched and filmed at the same time!
The filming of Zhu Yuanzhang, in which Zeng Lai was invited, is scheduled to start in early November.
Feng Xiaoning's Zhu Yuanzhang also started filming around this time, or even later.
After Xu Kun confirmed the news, he immediately backed out. Hualu's Zhu Yuanzhang was a big production just by looking at the cast, while Feng Xiaoning's cast was not as good as the other's and even the filming funds were stretched.
If this is right...
When the battle of Heavenly Sword was first aired, both sides were new actors, and only Liu Yifei was relatively famous, but not to the extent that she could carry the ratings.
But Chen Baoguo and Tang Guoqiang...
Bai Jingqi + Emperor Wu of Han + Zhuge Liang + Yongzheng + teacher, in 04, who in the circle would not be horrified when seeing such a combination?
Even Xu Fan is a mainstay of the People's Art Theatre and a well-known and talented actor.
But Xu Kun was no coward after all, and he quickly realized that this was actually his opportunity.
I felt scared when I saw the combination of Chen Baoguo and Tang Guoqiang, and when Director Feng heard the news, he was afraid that they wouldn't be that strong either.
The reason why Feng Xiaoning's version of Zhu Yuanzhang was scheduled to start filming in November was mainly because he had to wait for Hu Jun's schedule, but he, Xu, has been idle all the time.
If the crew can start filming earlier and release it before the Hualu version of Zhu Yuanzhang, then this battle can still be fought, and maybe even won.
This reason is much more useful than the conflict between Manchus and Han people!
So he quickly dialed Feng Xiaoning's number, which led to the scene where Director Feng's face changed drastically.
The camera switches back to Feng Xiaoning's crew. Feng Xiaoning tells everyone about the Hualu version of Zhu Yuanzhang, and everyone is immediately shocked.
The main reason is that the other party’s starring lineup is too luxurious!
Soon someone followed the clues and confirmed the news, and learned that the total investment in Hualu's version of Zhu Yuanzhang was 30 million, and Hualu also promised to make additional investments.
This number silenced everyone present.
Thirty million is actually not a lot these days. The total investment in the TV series "Legend of Sword and Fairy" is around thirty million.
But the problem is that the total investment of Feng Xiaoning's version of Zhu Yuanzhang was only 1800 million [PS: I couldn't find the exact number, so Lao Ao made up a rough number].
The 2000 million worth Heavenly Sword can defeat the 3000 million worth Immortal Sword, firstly because of the platform advantage, and secondly because of the comparison of the later plots.
The Hualu version of Zhu Yuanzhang is probably more advantageous in the former, but it is still unknown which one is better in the latter.
Moreover, historical dramas are different from fantasy dramas, and they will definitely involve war scenes and other large-scale scenes.
The cast of leading actors is already far inferior to others, if this aspect is even worse...
[According to the original historical plot, after the two dramas were filmed, they refused to give in to each other, and the dispute lasted from 05 to the second half of 06 - after all, Feng Xiaoning was not a person without background.
However, due to the level of costumes and props and the cast, Hualu's "Legendary Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang" finally won and became the highlight of CCTV-8 in the second half of the year.
Feng Xiaoning's version of "Zhu Yuanzhang" was forced to move south and was premiered on a local TV station.
However, after the official broadcast, the former was criticized for its outrageous plot; while the latter, although it had problems with shoddy costumes and props, gained a very good reputation thanks to its plot and Hu Jun's wonderful performance, and even often appeared on the list of recommended historical dramas. 】
But these are all stories for the future. Now, everyone in Feng's version of the crew is facing a formidable enemy.
In the silence, Feng Xiaoning took a deep breath and said in a shocking voice: "So I decided to give up Hu Jun and let Xu Kun play Zhu Yuanzhang!"
"I'm afraid this is inappropriate?"
The person who had previously suggested contacting Gujing Gongjiu once again questioned, "We are not as good as them in terms of the cast. If we replace them with a young actor... even if we get an extra 600 million in sponsorship, won't we still be unable to match them in terms of investment?"
Feng Xiaoning shook his head and said, "Of course the 600 million played a huge role in why I chose Xu Kun, but this was not the biggest reason."
Everyone was still wondering what else it was for if not for the 600 million. Zhu Sujin thought of what he had just mentioned about Hu Jun's schedule and couldn't help but blurt out, "Are you trying to take advantage of the time difference and start filming earlier?"
"That's right!"
Feng Xiaoning nodded and said, "As long as we can film it a few months earlier than Hualu, we will have enough time to broadcast it first - and with the 600 million in funding, we won't be so strapped for cash!"
The man who proposed "Gujing Gongjiu" opened his mouth when he heard this, but in the end he said nothing more.
If it was any other reason, he could still help Hu Jun argue for his rights, but Hu Jun couldn't even handle the schedule issue himself, so what would it matter even if he said anything?
And with this reason, he could also explain it to Mr. Hu - this was a crime not caused by war, and if anyone was to blame, it could only be Hualu's aggressive approach.
So the crew quickly reached a consensus.
Feng Xiaoning gave the order: "Everyone, start working from today. Actors, costumes, props, locations, character scripts - everything must be accelerated. Today is August 2004, 8. I want everything to be ready by the 16th of next month!"
It was fine for everyone else, but the assistant director in charge of casting complained bitterly: "With this change in schedule, many of the people we contacted previously will have to start over. Even the originally scheduled heroine, Ju Xue, may not be able to make time. You ask me..."
"This is the situation now. Try to find a solution."
Feng Xiaoning saw that the casting director was still as unhappy as ever. After thinking for a while, he said, "We can't let them invest the six million in vain. Go ask Xu Kun later to see if he has any suitable candidates for the supporting roles. Then we can do him a favor - but the prerequisite is that they must be suitable!"
"What about the heroine?"
The casting director threw up his hands and said, "I can't make the decision on this matter!"
"I'll try to discuss this with Ju Xue."
Feng Xiaoning also had a headache. Being forced to start filming early completely disrupted his previous plans.
(End of this chapter)
