novelweb Chapter 617: Ceiling
Chapter 617: Ceiling
Puppy Entertainment? Chai Pingzhi frowned. She had been in the entertainment industry for many years, and she basically knew well-known entertainment companies in the three places on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, but this was the first time she heard of this name.
I've never heard of Puppy Entertainment, it's probably a bag company! Chai Pingzhi thought to himself.
But even if it is a leather bag company, as long as it is willing to give money, it is the God of Wealth!
The subordinate went on to say: The person in charge of the entertainment company wants to have an interview with you, so he called to make an appointment. Do you want to see him?
See you, of course! You immediately make an appointment for me, and the sooner the better! Chai Pingzhi said immediately.
Now Chai Pingzhi really needs investment, and she will not let go of any opportunity, even if the other party is a strange company that she has never heard of, Chai Pingzhi will try her best to obtain funds.
The two parties agreed to meet the next day, and at the appointed time the next day, Chai Pingzhi came to the door in person to welcome the God of Wealth.
A middle-aged man appeared in front of Chai Pingzhi, who seemed to be about the same age as Chai Pingzhi, both around forty years old.
Zhou Sheng, Thunder Monkey! Chai Pingzhi immediately greeted him, still speaking in Cantonese. .
Puppy Entertainment was registered on Hong Kong Island, and Chai Pingzhi also regarded it as a Hong Kong Island company, so he spoke Cantonese.
The other party was slightly taken aback, and then said in an authentic Taiwanese accent; Miss Chai, we can speak Mandarin, and I'm from Kaohsiung.
Mr. Zhou is also from Kaohsiung! What a coincidence! I am also from Kaohsiung! Chai Pingzhi immediately got close.
This Mr. Zhou's name is Zhou Rugui, and he is Li Weidong's cousin.
Li Weidong's uncle, Zhou Yunsheng, left the mainland on the eve of liberation, and then started a family on the other side. Zhou Rugui is Zhou Yunsheng's son.
Although Zhou Yunsheng is the younger brother of Li Weidong's mother Zhou Yunxiu, his three children are all a few years older than Li Weidong.
The main reason is that Li Weidong was born relatively late. Li Weidong has four older sisters. Li Weidong's eldest sister was born after the 50s and is more than ten years older than Li Weidong. So when Zhou Yunxiu gave birth to Li Weidong, he was already forty.
After all, there are still barriers to exchanges between the two sides of the strait. Li Weidong wants to start a business on the other side, but he is not familiar with the place where he is born. The head of the puppy entertainment on the other side.
As a relative, Zhou Rugui may not have the ability to manage a company, but at least he was born and bred in the local area, and he is familiar with the local situation, and it is more convenient to handle affairs.
The risk of doing business in a place where there are barriers to this kind of communication is still relatively high. Even if it is an internationally accepted law and regulation, sometimes it is beyond our reach. So finding a trustworthy person is more important than finding a capable person.
Chai Pingzhi invited Zhou Rugui into the reception room. After the two exchanged a few pleasantries, Chai Pingzhi said, I heard that Mr. Zhou's company is very interested in our new play?
Zhou Rugui nodded: I heard that this TV series is based on Japanese manga?
It is adapted from Boys Over Flowers by the famous Japanese manga artist Yoko Kamio. This manga was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine margaret, and in 1996, 51 episodes of cartoons and one episode of theatrical version were launched. , Japan’s TV Asahi and our CTS have broadcast this cartoon.” Chai Pingzhi hurriedly introduced.
Chai Pingzhi has been able to memorize this set of introductions fluently. Every time she wants to invest, she must introduce it again.
I also know about these situations. The manga Boys Over Flowers is also published in Hong Kong Island, so my boss is interested in investing in your TV series. Zhou Rugui said.
Most people only know that Meteor Garden is popular throughout Asia, but they don't know that the original comic Boys Over Flowers of Meteor Garden is also an excellent work.
To be favored by Shueisha means that the work is of high quality. Margaret is a shojo manga publication under Shueisha, and Boys Over Flowers has always been the mainstay in it.
Then Boys Over Flowers was filmed and played as a cartoon, which further shows that Boys Over Flowers is the best among Shueisha's comics.
The comics of Boys Over Flowers have published a total of 37 single volumes, and the cumulative sales have exceeded 60 million copies, ranking first among Japanese girl comics.
This sales volume is already very high among Japanese manga booklets.
For example, Slam Dunk, which represents the youth born in the 1980s and 1990s, Reaper, one of the three major migrant comics, and Demon Slayer: Blade, the most popular Japanese comic in recent years, have a total sales volume of 120 million copies . Boys Over Flowers, as a girl manga, can sell half of these top manga works, which is already at the top level.
Therefore, the success of Meteor Garden is not an accident, it is itself a top IP.
It's just that the film and television drama adaptations of that era focused on the heroes of traditional martial arts novels, such as Jin Yong, Gu Long, etc., and the comics did not receive attention.
In order to obtain sponsorship, Chai Pingzhi not only introduced his works, but also drew big cakes.
I think the plot of Boys Over Flowers is very suitable to be adapted into a TV series. I believe this work will definitely have a very good ratings. It is estimated that we will be able to recover the production cost on the island's TV stations.
Then they are sold to Hong Kong Island, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, and of course the mainland. At that time, we can get relatively rich profits, and you, as an investor, will also get considerable returns.
The main way to make money for TV dramas is to sell broadcasting rights. At that time, there were no video websites, so the broadcasting rights were mainly sold to various TV stations.
The other side is just an island, and the market is limited after all. Only relying on local audiences, the profit is limited after all, so Taiwanese dramas explored the way of selling TV dramas abroad very early on.
In the years when Taiwanese dramas were the hottest, the entire East and Southeast Asian regions were the market for Taiwanese dramas, and this was also the main way for Taiwanese dramas to make profits. For a popular TV series, the right to broadcast it can be sold many times.
For example, the classic TV series Legend of the New White Snake, although it was a TV series in 1992, was still broadcast on CCTV in 2004.
Chai Pingzhi knows very well that the best way to impress investors is to lure them with profits, and talking about profits with capital is the most straightforward way.
However, Zhou Rugui on the opposite side smiled slightly, and then said, What our boss is looking at is not the profit of the TV series.
Isn't filming TV for money? Could it be for unspoken actors? Probably not! This TV series doesn't have enough funds, so it didn't hire famous actors.
The leading actors I found are all amateurs in the entertainment industry, and few people know them, so it is not possible for a few amateurs to invest in TV dramas just for unspoken rules.
Is it possible to unspoken rules for me? I also know that I am a young lady now, and I still have charm, no, I should be beautiful, but I am not a young girl after all... Chai Pingzhi began to think about it.
Zhou Rugui went on to say: The largest shareholder of our Puppy Entertainment is the Puppy Group in mainland China. I wonder if Ms. Chai has heard of Puppy Group?
Chai Pingzhi thought for a while and asked, There is a brand of beauty equipment in Japan called Puppies. Could it be from the Puppies Group?
Yes, that's a product of Puppy Group. In addition to beauty equipment, Puppy Group also produces home appliances such as small appliances, kitchen appliances, and medical equipment.
Zhou Rugui paused, and continued: So our boss hopes that we can see the products of the Puppy Group on this TV.
You mean product implantation? Chai Pingzhi understood instantly.
That's right, it's product placement, the more the better. Zhou Rugui nodded.
Product placement was nothing new at the time. Mainland TV dramas rarely used it, but European and American countries had used it for decades. In The Truman Show filmed in 1998, there is also a special plot that satirizes the placement of advertisements.
The Taiwanese drama market is small, and it is difficult to attract investment, so we started to use advertisement placement very early to obtain more filming funds.
It turned out to be for advertisement placement, but luckily it's not for my old lady's body! Chai Pingzhi was somewhat disappointed.
Then Chai Pingzhi immediately said: This is a modern drama, and product placement is not difficult. If Mr. Zhou can provide 50,000 yuan in sponsorship for each episode of the TV series, I guarantee that it will be in a prominent position in each episode. See the products of Puppy Group.
Chai Pingzhi is not greedy either, as the sponsorship fee is only NT$50,000 per episode. In her opinion, the budget of Meteor Garden is only NT$200,000 per episode, which can increase the budget by NT$50,000, which is equivalent to one-fifth more.
If the budget can be increased by one-fifth, then the filming will be a lot more comfortable, at least a chicken leg can be added to the lunch box of the leading actor!
And Chai Pingzhi didn't dare to ask for more, after all, this TV series uses only newcomers, and there are no stars to participate in the show, so don't scare away investors if you ask for too much!
Zhou Rugui asked, How many episodes do you plan to shoot for this TV series?
20 episodes. Chai Pingzhi continued; If each episode is 50,000 yuan, 20 episodes is one million!
I'll give you half a million! Zhou Rugui stretched out five fingers.
The price was cut in half, and Chai Pingzhi was somewhat unhappy, but having money is better than having no money! Getting a sponsorship fee of 500,000 yuan is much better than not getting a penny at all.
So Chai Pingzhi still had a smile on his face, and then said: Mr. Zhou, thank you very much for your generous sponsorship. But if you can sponsor more, I can guarantee that there will be better effects of advertising placement .
I can let the actors use the products of the Puppy Group directly in the play, or I can directly add some product advertisements to the lines to introduce the advantages of the products. This is certainly much better than simply showing off the product.
In order to ask for the sponsorship fee, Chai Pingzhi has decided to let f4 directly bring goods in the TV series.
Zhou Rugui said, Miss Chai, I think you have misunderstood. What I mean is, I sponsor you five hundred thousand per episode! Level 20 is ten million!
Ten million! Chai Pingzhi's mouth had opened into an O shape, and her brain was completely blank.
The budget for each episode of Meteor Garden is only NT$200,000. If one episode can receive sponsorship fees of NT$500,000, it will be 2.5 times more than the previous filming budget!
Calculated in this way, the budget of 700,000 yuan per episode is already a relatively sufficient production cost. At least in terms of props, there is no need to save. Chai Pingzhi can buy some props that he is more satisfied with.
As for the remuneration of the actors, there will not be a penny increase.
A group of amateur actors, that is, good-looking, other aspects are no different from group actors. Letting you act is flattering you, and they want more salary. Let's talk about it when they become popular!
Historically, when filming Meteor Garden, because of lack of money, the crew reduced expenses as much as possible, and the props were very shabby.
Because there is no budget and no money to buy props, the clothes worn by f4 at that time were all bought at street stalls.
And because Meteor Garden was filming and broadcasting at the same time, after one day's filming, Chai Pingzhi took f4 to the night market, bought a new set of clothes at the street stall, and put them on after filming the next day.
In order to prevent the audience from seeing that the actors are wearing street stalls, when buying clothing, try to choose single-color clothing and reduce some patterns, so that it is not easy to be seen as street stalls.
It is estimated that there are only those four who wear street stalls with a sense of luxury.
As for f4, he is a rich man, so sports cars are indispensable when he is on stage. At the time of filming, the crew didn’t even have the money to rent a sports car, so they had to borrow a Mazda mx5 from a friend. Sports car!
The price of the 2022 Mazda mx5 in Japan is 2.899 million yen, which is less than 160,000 yuan.
The other rich second generations drive Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and at worst Porsche 911s. However, the so-called top rich second generation in Meteor Garden drives a 160,000 RMB Mazda. You can't afford a tire for a supercar at this price!
Fortunately, at that time, the mainlanders had no money and had never seen the world, so they were fooled by this Mazda. If today, anyone who sees a Mazda can call himself a rich second generation, it is estimated that he will make a variety of animated emoticons to ridicule him.
After a while, Chai Pingzhi calmed down.
After a little thought, Chai Pingzhi realized that the other party's willingness to give a sponsorship fee of 500,000 yuan for an episode must not be as simple as product advertisement placement, and this puppy entertainment must have other plans!
Are you still greedy for me? Chai Pingzhi thought again.
Then she asked, Mr. Zhou, if your company is willing to provide so much sponsorship, there should be other requirements?
That's right, we have additional conditions! Zhou Rugui nodded, and continued: We hope that the four male protagonists of this TV series will become the brand ambassadors of Puppy Electric, and they will sign a long-term contract of more than five years.
No problem! Chai Pingzhi agreed without thinking about it, and then she said: Mr. Zhou, you should have read the original manga, so you think there are four male protagonists. But in fact there are only two male protagonists. The roles of the two are not many.
We want all four of you. Zhou Rugui said firmly.
Okay, no problem, there are four of them! Chai Pingzhi quickly agreed, lest the big benefactor who was afraid of the heat would be unhappy.
In addition, we need four leading actors to cooperate with our brand promotion activities, no less than ten times a year! Zhou Rugui continued.
Okay. Chai Pingzhi agreed without hesitation, and then waited for Zhou Rugui to say the third point.
However, Zhou Rugui didn't say another word. So Chai Pingzhi asked, Mr. Zhou, are these two requirements?
The product placement mentioned before is still required. The one you mentioned allows the actors to use the product in the play, and the advertisements in the lines, all of which must be included. Zhou Rugui said.
That's natural, these will definitely not be missing, and you will definitely be satisfied! Chai Pingzhi quickly promised.
Then we have no other requirements. Zhou Rugui replied.
It's that simple? Don't mention the body? You can also try to mention it, what if I agree? Chai Pingzhi thought again.
For Chai Pingzhi, Zhou Rugui's request was simply too easy!
Chai Pingzhi is f4's agent, and it's not all Chai Pingzhi's decision on what kind of contract f4 will sign.
Moreover, the current f4 is still four amateur actors. If such unknown amateur actors can get an advertising endorsement contract, they are already smoked from their ancestral graves. How can they be picky about the contract period and the number of endorsement activities!
If Chai Pingzhi can realize how popular f4 is in the future, he probably won't agree to Zhou Rugui's two requests so easily.
From Chai Pingzhi's point of view, even if those four young men could become popular, how popular could they be?
As a TV drama actor, he can at most reach the level of Ma Jingtao and Lin Ruiyang. These two were once the number one popular niche in Taiwan, and they can be regarded as the ceiling of TV drama actors in Taiwan.
As a group, at most it can reach the level of Little Tigers, which was the top group in Taiwan in the early 1990s, and it was regarded as the ceiling of Taiwanese male singing groups at that time.
Ma Jingtao and the Little Tigers are probably the highest goals that Chai Pingzhi set for f4.
From the perspective of future generations, this ceiling does not seem to be very high!
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