Chapter 282: Summer Blockbuster Lifts One to Heaven, Yi

Summer has arrived, and in Jingcheng, the feeling is not just heat, but an even stronger Olympic atmosphere.

This time next year will be the Olympic Games in Jingcheng, nearly a year to the day, and all kinds of warm-up and promotional activities are underway.

In Yi'an's advertising department, at least one-sixth of the ads this past month have been related to next year's Olympics or Olympic elements.

The company's artists, including Seeing Yan Li, have all participated to varying degrees in Olympic-related activities and promotions.

For instance, Fan Xiaopang took leave to join a ten-thousand-person cycling event promoting the Olympics; Seeing Yan Li attended two related meetings and video recordings this past month.

Yi'an's film and television department is also considering whether to produce a TV series or film on the Olympic theme.

Seeing Yan Li gave no clear response to the proposal.

An Olympic-themed project is indeed a good one, but how to shoot it is another matter.

Because the Olympics carry such massive influence, the constraints are equally vast—selection of material and plot must be carefully considered; make it too small and it's boring, make it too big and if it fails review, you're stuck with a total loss.

So Seeing Yan Li's suggestion was that Yi'an produce a documentary.

Pick a few athletes, pick a few distinctive families or behind-the-scenes figures as protagonists, and film over a period of one year or six months leading up to the Olympics, plus the Olympic cycle itself.

Such a documentary won't make money, but it has some commemorative and positive value, showcasing Yi'an's support for the Olympics.

Meanwhile, Yi'an can retain some footage—filming the Olympics now is sensitive, but wait a few or even ten years to use it.

Just like the 1990s Asian Games, they remain countless people's memories and pivotal moments to this day.

China's first Olympics will surely be a topic that cannot be avoided for years to come, and will definitely be used for film and television projects; at that time, these documentaries can serve as source material and reference.

The cost of a documentary is actually low—it's mainly time and manpower.

Seeing Yan Li told the film and television department to think over this plan, then come to him for budget approval—if acceptable, initiate and prepare.

Aside from Olympic hype, 2007's summer season had no good movies, so TV dramas claimed the biggest share of the profits.

"Struggle," "The Deer and the Cauldron," "Soldiers' Sortie," "The Legend of Chu Liuxiang," "Golden Marriage," "The Legend of Yang Yuhuan"…

One after another, these hot dramas aired in rotation, fiercely competing, dazzling one another, with countless actors and stars appearing—some remained obscure, some merely flashed on screen, some shone brilliantly.

Among them, "Soldiers' Sortie" was unquestionably the biggest dark horse—a pure male drama with almost no female roles—that, after half a year of buildup, finally exploded during the summer season.

Wang Baoqiang, an actor with no looks, no personality, and no height, who started as a background extra, suddenly became the hottest young male actor in the industry.

Other supporting actors such as Duan Long, Zhang Guoqiang, Zhang Yi, Chen Sicheng, Xing Jiadong, and Li Chen also benefited to varying degrees.

Before this, the vast majority of them were unknown actors; let alone playing lead roles, some hadn't even appeared in many productions.

After "Soldiers' Sortie," each of them was invited by various production teams, including for major roles—even lead male roles.

One drama to ascend to heaven—this is exactly what it means!

Many criticize the entertainment industry for being superstitious, but in truth, this business often depends entirely on luck.

These actors from "Soldiers' Sortie," many had struggled for years—could you say they lacked ability before?

But they never broke through—until luck favored them, and one drama made them famous.

There are countless other excellent actors whose skills are no worse, yet they never became popular—they simply lacked the luck and the right opportunity.

Because many famous actors' success has a strong element of luck, the industry has sayings like "three parts effort, seven parts luck," and "small fame comes from promotion, big fame comes from fate."

When all your efforts yield no opportunity, yet you see others strike it rich purely from luck, you can't help turning to mysticism.

Not just people—even dramas are the same.

"Struggle," directed by a renowned filmmaker, had a strong cast and solid pre-release data.

"The Deer and the Cauldron" and "The Legend of Chu Liuxiang" need no mention—they were industry-celebrated big-budget, blockbuster productions.

Yet all three were overshadowed by "Soldiers' Sortie," which had nothing going for it.

Seeing Yan Li was fine with it—he built his career on low-budget projects and could accept this outcome.

Besides, "The Legend of Chu Liuxiang," though not as explosive as "Soldiers' Sortie," still performed well and remained one of the hottest TV dramas of the summer season.

Huayi could also accept it—even though their heavily anticipated "The Deer and the Cauldron" lost to the dark horse.

But this dark horse was their own production—it was better than being crushed by "The Legend of Chu Liuxiang."

What was less acceptable was "Struggle"—since the other hot dramas were mostly historical costume pieces, they assumed they could monopolize the modern market through this difference, only for Xu Sanduo to appear.

In terms of ratings, "Struggle" wasn't far behind "Soldiers' Sortie," but its reputation and influence were utterly trounced.

A melodramatic romance between a rich/official second-generation and his gang of shady friends—how could that compare to the best military recruitment drama?

"Struggle," which had already drawn some criticism, now faced a wave of backlash.

And this trend will likely continue over time.

Seeing Yan Li had never understood how this plot could dare to be called "Struggle."

Where was the struggle?!

It should've been called "The Womb," or "My Wealthy Father and My Boss Stepfather."

To be fair, director Zhao Baogang had some understanding of the lives of today's youth, though sometimes he mixed in idealized or absurd ideas.

Although "Struggle" had melodramatic flaws and plot holes, it wasn't without merit—otherwise, why would so many people watch it?

But the title was so darkly ironic that it instantly made the entire drama's tone absurd.

While three major hits were overshadowed by the dark horse, the less-heralded "Golden Marriage," thanks to the strong performances of several skilled actors and a solid script and plot, though less popular, consistently held the top tier of ratings.

"The Legend of Yang Yuhuan" has not yet aired on national television, but feedback has been positive—far stronger than "The White-Haired Witch."

It's somewhat similar to earlier hits like "The Investiture of the Gods" and "The Legend of Xue Rengui"—unlikely to be a massive breakout, but if handled well, it can still make a big splash.

Originally, Yi'an's strategy was to promote "The Legend of Yang Yuhuan" and "The Legend of Chu Liuxiang," to strengthen their status as TV giants.

Now, due to the chaotic battlefield and lack of decisive advantage, Yi'an has adjusted its promotional strategy, focusing on the distribution card.

Aside from "Soldiers' Sortie," several of these hot dramas are also distributed by Yi'an.

The brilliance of this summer season would not have been possible without Yi'an's behind-the-scenes planning and effort.

In short—win!

The evidence proves this strategy still works—ordinary viewers don't understand distribution or production—they just know these hit dramas are all tied to Yi'an, so Yi'an is awesome.

Hua Yi's two brothers were stunned with anger; during this next summer slot, "The Deer and the Cauldron" performed steadily, "Soldier's March" was a dark horse, Huang Xiaoming, Wang Baoqiang, and many Hua Yi artists saw their careers rise—Hua Yi was clearly the biggest winner.

But Yi'an used distribution as leverage, and they truly had no way to counter it; other dramas aside, "The Deer and the Cauldron" simply couldn't bypass Yi'an.

Since there would be more cooperation ahead, Hua Yi didn't want to burn bridges, so they simply adopted a strategy: you win your way, I win mine.

No winner, no loser—everyone wins!

…

Outside, several companies were all winning; inside Yi'an, multiple departments were winning, winning, winning.

The distribution department needs no elaboration—this summer slot saw concentrated releases, and with Yi'an shifting its promotional focus, the distribution team stole the spotlight.

Deputy General Xiao Guan, in charge of distribution, had been walking with his neck held high these past few days.

The film and television department also claimed they'd done well.

Although "The Legend of Chu Liuxiang" was overshadowed by "Soldier's March" and didn't reach the dazzling heights of its predecessor "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng," its performance was still impressive, and crucially, it sold well.

Here's a not-so-obscure fact: many so-called blockbuster dramas, despite strong ratings, don't necessarily earn much.

Take "Soldier's March"—it certainly made money, but its six-month fermentation period, initial market skepticism, and its own production costs and cast lineup all kept its price from being especially high.

Meanwhile, some so-called flops, even with poor ratings, often fetch sky-high prices due to their cast, investment, and market optimism.

Of course, such flops only make a quick profit—the better the ratings, the more they sell.

"The Legend of Chu Liuxiang" had been widely anticipated by the market, a hot commodity fiercely contested by industry insiders.

Since its broadcast, it has consistently ranked in the top tier, with strong ratings and word-of-mouth, solid momentum, and guaranteed future revenue.

The project's current estimated income will likely exceed 80 million; 85 to 90 million is the more reliable range.

After deducting costs, taxes, and various splits, this revenue can generate at least 35 million in profit for the company.

Gu Long's dramas remain one of Yi'an's biggest cash cows.

Another drama, "The Legend of Yang Yuhuan," performed slightly worse across the board, but its projected 65 million revenue can still generate about 15 to 20 million in profit for Yi'an.

In other words, these two dramas could directly bring the company over 50 million in revenue—after deducting costs and taxes.

Add to that "Golden Marriage" and several other projects in which Yi'an invested, even if their shares or returns were limited, they still brought in a cut.

So although its performance wasn't as dominant as the distribution department's, in terms of profitability, the film and television department was absolutely confident.

The artist management department also stood tall.

"The Legend of Chu Liuxiang" caused Qiao Zhenyu, as the lead actor, to see his popularity skyrocket.

Throughout this summer slot, it wasn't just "Soldier's March" and "Struggle" that exploded in popularity.

Many lead actors in "The Legend of Chu Liuxiang" also benefited greatly.

Qiao Zhenyu / Chu Liuxiang, Wu Yue / Hu Tiehua, Zhao Hongfei / Ji Bingyan, Cui Peng / Wuhua the Monk

Dong Xuan / Su Rongrong, Yang Xue / Li Hongxiu, Shu Chang / Song Tian'er, Han Xue / Gong Nanyan, Mu Tingting / Liu Wumei, Yang Tongshu / Shuimu Yinji, Qiu Cixuan / Shi Guanyin, Tong Yaya / Kucha Princess…

A wave of handsome men and beautiful women—just their looks alone attracted massive audiences.

Not to mention the drama's own plot, character designs, and exquisite costumes and props, which further won over fans in every direction.

As the absolute lead male actor, and backed by Yi'an's support, Qiao Zhenyu amassed fans at a crazy pace, subtly surpassing Zhang Zhilin's former popularity.

How to put it? Zhang Zhilin's popularity back then came mostly from the role's appeal and his CP with Hua Manlou.

In terms of fan acquisition alone, Ren Quan's Hua Manlou actually drew more fans—if Yan Kuan's Ximen Chuixue hadn't had so little screen time, Zhang Zhilin might have ranked third.

Qiao Zhenyu might not have been as perfectly matched to his role as Zhang Zhilin, but he had one advantage—

Handsome!

Although Qiao's personality was introverted and his ambition less intense, such artists could still be promoted in specific ways.

Introverted and laid-back meant he wasn't driven by fame or fortune, just wanted to be a good actor, unbound by superficial glitz… in short, they framed him as a refined gentleman rising above mire.

If you think it's ridiculous, fine—that just means you're not his target audience; some people eat this up.

Of course, this persona, while easy to attract fans, has one flaw—it's too lofty and prone to collapse.

Any negative news will affect him; if he commits serious offenses like infidelity, it will be a major blow to his career.

The artist management department considered Qiao Zhenyu's clean personal life and decent personality, then packaged him around these traits, even prepared backup plans to leave room for maneuver.

This was also Seeing Yan Li's intention: artist packaging was unavoidable and inevitably involved some flamboyance, but it should avoid extremes.

If you leave no escape route, what if something happens later? You won't be able to recover easily.

Seeing Yan Li's actions were mostly for the artists' own good.

Most artists sign for only a few years; very few stay with one company for over a decade.

The company protects you for a few years, builds extreme personas, squeezes out profits, and when problems arise, either the contract has expired and they've left, unrelated to the company—or the contract is nearly over, so they abandon the pawn to save the car, and the company suffers little loss.

Yi'an could easily do this, but Seeing Yan Li still had a conscience, and being an actor himself, he still cared for the artists.

He made money, but never resorted to draining the pond to catch all the fish or harming others for personal gain; he aimed for mutual benefit and amicable partings.

Through all these maneuvers, Yi'an gained another artist with substantial popularity—not only could he earn money for the company, but he could also indirectly help drive projects.

Besides Qiao Zhenyu, several female roles in "The Legend of Chu Liuxiang" also attracted considerable attention.

The most popular were Shu Chang and Dong Xuan—both beautiful, elegantly dressed, likable characters, with substantial screen time; then came Yang Xue.

Among supporting roles, Qiu Cixuan and Mu Tingting appeared most frequently, mainly because their characters had standout plot moments that left a strong impression.

One male supporting actor also became popular: Cui Peng as Wuhua the Monk. Though his screen time was limited, he was extremely eye-catching, subtly stealing spotlight from even the second and third male leads.

Besides "The Legend of Chu Liuxiang," "The Legend of Yang Yuhuan" also performed well, positively boosting Fan Xiaopang in every aspect.

The artist management department now had more cards to play, naturally boosting its confidence; even Deputy General Jia Qian specifically sought out Seeing Yan Li, wanting to leverage this momentum for Yi'an to recruit more talent.

Among peer companies, Yi'an had the fewest artists.

Even on a premium path, this number was too low; artist management needed to sign more people—not necessarily to push them to top-tier status, but even second- or third-tier artists could earn money and support the company.

After Jia Qian's fierce advocacy, and considering Yi'an's growing scale, Boss Yan finally relented and permitted the artist management department to sign a few new artists.

…

With the Imperial Sword in hand, Vice President Jia immediately began his work.

The Artist Agency Department already had a list of candidates and immediately made contact.

For example, The Legend of Chu Liuxiang, Yi An was quite interested in Shu Chang and Cui Peng.