Chapter 134

After putting down the teacup, Wu Yuchen asked: "Xiaogang, is your *Dreams Come True* adapted from Wang Shuo's *I Am Not a Vulgar Person*?"

Feng Xiaogang nodded immediately, thinking that Wu Yuchen also had an opinion on him because he changed the name, and explained with a worried look:

"Yes, but I had no choice. It really wouldn't pass if it wasn't changed. Third Master also knows. I spent a lot of effort just to name it!"

Han Sanping also interjected: "Wu Dao, that's how it is. It's best not to get involved with Wang Shuo now."

Wu Yuchen shook his head: "No, I mean, is this movie title a bit vulgar?"

Feng Xiaogang's heart stirred, and a fawning smile immediately appeared on his face, continuing: "Wu Dao, why don't you give it a name?"

Wu Yuchen smiled and pretended to ponder for a moment:

"Your story is about signing contracts to realize dreams, so isn't it just a matter of the first party and the second party? Why not call it *The Dream Factory*?"

Feng Xiaogang clapped his hands upon hearing this: "Wonderful! Too wonderful! As expected of Wu Dao, a flash of inspiration is much better than the name I thought about for a long time! Let's call it *The Dream Factory*!"

Han Sanping also nodded and praised: "Good, it's indeed more meaningful than the original name."

Then Feng Xiaogang said to Xu Fan: "Come, fill it up for me. Just because Wu Dao gave me such a good name, I have to toast another one!"

Wu Yuchen knew he couldn't stop him. If he didn't let him drink, he might feel uncomfortable in his heart.

He glanced at Xu Fan, who was pouring wine for Feng Xiaogang. Don't look at Feng Xiaogang bringing Xu Fan out to meet people everywhere now, and everyone in later generations knows Xu Fan is Feng Xiaogang's wife, but in fact, Feng Xiaogang is not divorced now, which means Xu Fan has been following him as a mistress, and she followed for seven years until Feng Xiaogang divorced in 1999, and Xu Fan was officially recognized.

Everyone in the circle knows, but no one says anything. What's so strange about it? People live their own lives, and it doesn't hinder others. At most, they gossip a few words in private.

Although Feng Xiaogang is just filming his first movie now, he has already served as the director of TV series such as *Beijingers in New York*, *Lost in Love*, and *A Piece of Feather*. He is a person with a name and surname. Otherwise, do you really think Han Sanping would just pat his head and give a newcomer 4 million to film a movie?

In the entertainment industry, everyone's tolerance for directors is just that high. Having a few more women is just a romantic affair.

The subsequent banquet was roughly the same. Through Han Sanping's introduction, Wu Yuchen also met quite a few people from the Film Association, which is actually those who give domestic awards. Although his perception of them is just so-so, since Han Sanping organized it, he gave the face that should be given. It was just a matter of taking a few more sips of tea.

Han Sanping organized a big celebration banquet for *My Brothers and Sisters*, which spread widely. The slogan he proposed to revitalize Chinese films naturally spread out.

If there were no results, it would definitely be sneered at. But now that he holds the box office results of *My Brothers and Sisters* surpassing *Jurassic Park 2* to say this, it naturally makes others convinced. Many film newspapers and magazines mentioned this event and reprinted Han Sanping's words intact.

And as one of the protagonists at the celebration banquet, Wu Yuchen was naturally mentioned a lot. Moreover, Han Sanping's clear attitude of supporting him raised Wu Yuchen's status even higher in the eyes of people in the circle.

After Wu Yuchen attended this big celebration banquet, he and Miracle Film and Television held a small celebration banquet internally. The object of the celebration banquet was naturally *Burning Years*.

*Burning Years* counts as Miracle Film and Television's first TV work. Being able to become a hit overnight undoubtedly made a good start and boosted a lot of confidence in the company's TV department. Wu Yuchen naturally wanted to reward them well.

Wu Yuchen picked up his teacup:

"Let me say a word. Our *Burning Years* was filmed so successfully, which is inseparable from the efforts of the entire crew!

Now that the ratings are hot, Teacher Li, Teacher He, Xiaoran, and Xiaotian, you have all become household names. I won't say much more. But I must specifically praise our director Kang Honglei!

The outside world says *Burning Years* is my work, Wu Yuchen's work. From the script, that's how it is. But from the TV series, you people in the crew should all know clearly that Director Kang Honglei is the greatest contributor!

Let's all toast Director Kang Honglei together!"

Everyone applauded and cheered upon hearing this, while Kang Honglei smiled honestly and also felt a warmth in his heart.

At this time, the protagonist Li Youbin stood up with his cup: "Director Kang, today I, Old Li, must toast you. I argued and bickered with you when filming. I'll apologize to you here! Without Director Kang, there wouldn't be such a wonderful *Burning Years*!"

Kang Honglei also picked up his cup: "We are all for the sake of the show being good. I can understand! Without your wonderful performance, Old Li, this show wouldn't have been successful either!"

Under Wu Yuchen's leadership, quite a few people expressed their gratitude to Kang Honglei, and Wu Yuchen watched with a smile on the side. It was fine to use his name during the promotion before, but now that the show had been successful, he would speak more for Kang Honglei later. It was what he deserved.

In the joyful atmosphere, Yin Xiaotian, who was the most straightforward, asked directly: "Wu Dao, do you think our TV series can win an award?"

Wu Yuchen said heroically: "Must win an award! Flying Apsaras and Golden Eagle, we will take both!"

Everyone cheered again upon hearing this. Although they knew it might be to encourage everyone, Wu Yuchen's status was here, and his words were convincing, making quite a few people hold expectations.

Wu Yuchen wasn't talking nonsense. In his past life, *Burning Years* won the Flying Apsaras Award for Long-form TV Series First Prize, Best Actor, Golden Eagle Award for Outstanding Long-form TV Series, Golden Eagle Best Actor, and Best Actress. It can be said that it swept both major awards.

There's no way around it; this TV series was really popular, and the theme was very upright. It was loved by the audience to win the Golden Eagle, and favored by the government to sweep the Flying Apsaras.

As for why you didn't mention the Magnolia Award among the three major TV awards...

To tell the truth, the Magnolia Award these days is really not worth complimenting. It brought the characteristic of the Shanghai region catering to "international exchange" to the extreme. For example, in the next session in 1998, among the winners, except for one Best Actress who was Chinese, all other awards including Best TV Series, Best Actor, Screenwriter, Cinematography, etc., were all foreigners.

Damn, what's the point of participating in this!

It wasn't until 10 years later that the Magnolia Award was reformed, allowing domestic TV series to occupy the mainstream. Therefore, within 10 years, there was no need to count on participating in any Magnolia Award. Just the Flying Apsaras and Golden Eagle could be considered.

Letting Kang Honglei and them toast each other, Wu Yuchen smiled and communicated with another director in the company:

"Li Dao, welcome, welcome. The *Gu Feng* you filmed is very good. This time, you will definitely be able to bring everyone a good work!"

The person in front is none other than Li Guoli. He had previously been invited by the Shanghai Film Studio to film a movie called *The Spring Breeze is Proud of Meilong Town*, starring Jin Shijie, Wu Qianlian, and Chen Xiaochun. Therefore, he only came over after filming.

Li Guoli said with a Cantonese-accented Mandarin:

"Where, where, it's far from Wu Dao! Coming to the celebration banquet as soon as I arrived, I'm also lucky to catch some joy~"

Li Guoli had always been actively cooperating with the mainland these years. His attitude was quite good, and he didn't dare to put on airs in front of Wu Yuchen.

After the two exchanged pleasantries, Wu Yuchen asked: "Li Dao, do you have any plans recently?"

Li Guoli knew he was asking about his filming plans. He also understood that since he had just arrived at the new company, it was best to make some achievements to establish a firm foothold.

Li Guoli thought for a moment and said: "Wu Dao, I wonder if you have watched the very popular *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils* recently?"

Wu Yuchen nodded with a smile: "Naturally, I watched it. It's very popular in the mainland!"

Li Guoli continued: "Actually, it's not just the mainland. It's also very popular in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and even Singapore! So I have an idea to film a martial arts drama."

Wu Yuchen's heart stirred, remembering something, but he still asked: "Oh? Li Dao, what is your goal?"

Li Guoli nodded: "Yes, I want to film Gu Long's *Handsome Siblings*."

Wu Yuchen thought to himself upon hearing this, as expected. In his past life, Li Guoli filmed *Handsome Siblings* around next year. After it aired in 1999, it also swept across the country and became a screen memory for a generation. Jimmy Lin also used this show to achieve a sharp rise in TV series salary. However, the Xiao Xiao Yuer he played was really good.

Many people only knew about Tang Ren after *Chinese Paladin*, but in fact, they had already filmed hit shows like *Handsome Siblings*. Later, the well-received *Mermaid* and *The Lotus Lantern* were also produced by Tang Ren.

It's just that Tang Ren didn't earn much money from these shows. This has to be said about Tang Ren's operating model.

In his past life, after Cai Yinong and Li Guoli founded Tang Ren, they didn't have money to film TV series themselves, so their choice was to produce scripts and production themselves, helping TV stations film, which is simply earning craftsmanship money.

For example, the hit *Handsome Siblings*, the copyright was from Taiwan, and Tang Ren only counted as a worker.

Many people thought Tang Ren earned a lot of money from *Chinese Paladin*, but in fact, they didn't. When Tang Ren was preparing to film, the funds were simply not enough, so they sold the mainland copyright of *Chinese Paladin* for the first 7 years. That is to say, all the income of *Chinese Paladin* in the mainland within 7 years had nothing to do with Tang Ren.

However, Tang Ren set a repurchase clause. After 7 years, Tang Ren had the right to buy back the mainland copyright of *Chinese Paladin* at a price of 2,000 yuan per episode. That is to say, as long as 60,000 or 70,000 yuan, they could buy back all the copyrights.

At that time, the company called Shanghai Yitong agreed. They felt that *Chinese Paladin* after 7 years would definitely have no value. Normal TV series are naturally like this, but *Chinese Paladin* became a hit. When Tang Ren paid 70,000 yuan in 2012, Shanghai Yitong directly went back on their word. Just kidding, how could *Chinese Paladin* only be worth 70,000 at this time?! Just one online copyright is worth hundreds of times more!

Later, both sides went to court. It wasn't until 2014 that Tang Ren bought back the mainland copyright of the *Chinese Paladin* TV series for 70,000 yuan based on the original contract.

Speaking of which, Cai Yinong and Li Guoli's management style is very steady, but it also made Tang Ren miss the big profits of several hit shows in a row. From this, it can be seen that Cai Yinong herself lacks a certain courage and is very risk-averse, so she joined Miracle Film and Television as soon as Wu Yuchen invited her. She can be a qualified manager, but she is somewhat lacking in making decisions for the general direction of an enterprise's development.

However, for Wu Yuchen, these problems don't exist. It's an excellent thing that Li Guoli is willing to film *Handsome Siblings*!

At this time, not only Li Guoli, but Cai Yinong on the side also couldn't help but look at Wu Yuchen with expectant eyes. After all, Li Guoli was invited by Cai Yinong.

Seeing this, Wu Yuchen said with a smile: "Li Dao, your vision is very good. These few years are exactly the time for martial arts fever. I also trust your ability, Li Dao. The company will support you in filming *Handsome Siblings*!"

Cai Yinong breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but she didn't interject. Li Guoli smiled, then thought for a moment and said:

"Wu Dao, this time filming *Handsome Siblings*, I want to target the entire Chinese-speaking region across the strait. Therefore, I want to invite some Hong Kong and Taiwan actors to play the leading roles. After all, in terms of appeal, the actors there are still higher."

This time Wu Yuchen didn't nod directly, but said unhurriedly:

"Li Dao, what you said has some truth. If you want to sell the copyright to Hong Kong and Taiwan, you do need someone with fame there. How about this, find a Hong Kong/Taiwan actor for Xiao Xiao Yuer, and a mainland actor for Hua Wuque. This way, both can be taken care of!"

Li Guoli actually wanted to find one Taiwan and one Hong Kong star for the two male leads, so that the copyrights of both places would be easy to sell. As for mainland audiences, according to his observations over the years, mainland audiences don't value local actors, but rather Hong Kong and Taiwan actors attract them more.

But Wu Yuchen is the big boss of the company. Since he said so, Li Guoli can accept it. Finding a well-known Hong Kong/Taiwan actor for Xiao Xiao Yuer is enough.

Li Guoli's heart stirred, thinking whether Wu Yuchen had an actor he liked, so he asked: "Wu Dao, do you have any suggestions for the candidates for the roles?"

Wu Yuchen smiled: "Li Dao, if you want suggestions, I really have one. You can listen to it."

Li Guoli smiled and raised his hand: "Wu Dao, please speak."

"For Xiao Xiao Yuer, you can find a Hong Kong/Taiwan actor suitable for this kind of quirky TV series. There are two suitable candidates. One is the Hong Kong actor Zhang Weijian, who starred in *Journey to the West* last year."

Li Guoli gave a bitter smile after hearing this: "Li Dao, Zhang Weijian probably won't work!"

At this time, Cai Yinong asked: "Why? Wasn't Zhang Weijian's *Journey to the West* popular in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and all of Southeast Asia last year? Is his current salary too high?"

Li Guoli shook his head: "No, just two months ago, he fell out with TVB. TVB made up its mind to freeze him. He has no way to take on films before the contract expires."

"Ah? What happened? He's so popular!" Cai Yinong was very surprised upon hearing this.

Li Guoli sighed and began to tell the ins and outs of the matter. He had been a producer at TVB before, so he was very clear about this matter that had just happened not long ago. The source was still because of TVB's famous stinginess.

Zhang Weijian starred in *Journey to the West* last year and earned 200 million Hong Kong dollars for TVB, but his own salary for filming the whole show was only 70,000 or 80,000, averaging less than 3,000 per episode. In Hong Kong, this income could only barely maintain his life, which was very difficult.

After *Journey to the West* became popular, Zhang Weijian proposed a salary increase for filming the sequel. He didn't open his mouth like a lion, only asking to raise it to 10,000 per episode. In fact, filming it would only give him hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong dollars.

But TVB executives just wouldn't agree, directly saying: "Who recognizes you after plucking your monkey hair!"

Zhang Weijian was chilled to the heart by these words, directly broke down, fell out with TVB, and has shaved his head ever since, making a vow to prove that he can be popular even without hair!

Cai Yinong opened her mouth, not knowing what to say. She knew TVB was stingy when she was in Hong Kong before, but she didn't expect them to be so stingy to the absolute male lead who had already acted in a hit show. If it were her, she would definitely have treated him like a treasure!

Wu Yuchen naturally knew about this, and Zhang Weijian later truly staged a cool counter-attack script of "don't bully the young and poor." A year later, the contract expired and he left. A few years later, he became a TV ratings prince, popular across the strait, slapping TVB in the face, forcing TVB executives to find someone to make peace before he appeared in *The Monkey King* again.

You have to say that Zhang Weijian is indeed very popular with the audience, especially loved by children and teenagers. You can call him the TV version of Stephen Chow.

However, Wu Yuchen's first choice wasn't Zhang Weijian anyway. He smiled and said:

"Then the other one, Jimmy Lin from Taiwan. His performance in *Shaolin Popey* has this potential. I think you can consider it."