Chapter 839 Much More Conscience

September 28th.

"Flying on Grass" press conference.

Li Zhibai and other key members of the production team appeared to promote this martial arts drama.

"The spin-off of 'Seventeen Floors' has also been scheduled for release, directly competing with 'Grass on the Grass.' The former stars Chen Pinhe. Zhibai, are you confident?" a reporter asked with a smile. "We all know that 'Grass on the Grass' is a major drama that you produced, and it's also a collaboration with director Liu Manbo, whom you worked with on 'Nineteen Years.' You have high hopes for this drama."

Li Zhibai nodded and said, "I do have high hopes for this drama, but it's not that serious whether it's competing or not. In this day and age, if the audience likes it, they can watch both dramas at the same time. Why do they have to compete? The way you're talking makes it sound like Teacher Chen Pinhe is very dissatisfied with me and is picking on me to compete."

Everyone laughed.

"This is your second time starring in a period drama since 'Chinese Paladin.' After all, it's a spin-off of 'The Seventeenth Floor,' which has a large audience base. 'Grasshopper' had its release date set a long time ago, and now the spin-off of 'The Seventeenth Floor' is suddenly targeting this time slot. Isn't it just picking on you?" another media outlet said.

Li Zhibai: "Are you trying to sow discord? Teacher Chen is a movie star, and I'm just an ordinary young actor. Why lower yourself to pick on me? He was probably tricked by his partners. After all, the release date wasn't up to him. Haha, back then, some people from Beijing TV were targeting Yan He, and I scolded them. As a result, I got targeted. Teacher Chen is quite innocent; he was used as a tool."

The entire audience erupted in a clamor.

Li Zhibai bluntly stated that this was something no one had expected.

The explosive nature of the topic was evident the moment he opened his mouth.

But what many people don't know is the subtle provocation behind every "Teacher Chen" from Li Zhibai.

The press conference was completely blown away by Li Zhibai's speech.

The video went viral online, trending on social media one after another.

The drama "Grass on the Grass" has consistently ranked among the top 5 trending topics.

This is Li Zhibai's team.

This is the result of Lin Suyang's negotiations with Weibo's management.

Li Zhibai gave Weibo a day that dominated the trending topics, and Weibo gave "Grass on the Grass" a stable promotional spot.

Um.

That's right.

The reporters who asked questions at the media briefing—

They're all shills.

This was a media conference that was directed and staged by the organizers themselves.

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On September 30, a media briefing was also held between Beijing and Taiwan.

The Seventeenth Floor: Reboot

Lin Yu was also present at the scene.

She attended as the content director of Jump Up Films and sat in the front row.

Jiang Lan attended in person.

After all, this is her project.

The media present were most concerned about Li Zhibai's public criticism the day before yesterday.

Jiang Lan said with a smile, "I don't know anything about what Zhi Bai said. I don't think Zhi Bai was criticizing the drama 'The Seventeen Floors' at the time. My collaboration with Yan He is very pleasant. In fact, Yan He and I have always been very close partners. We also have a drama called 'Jiang Yan' starring Yan Liang that is yet to be broadcast. I'm very confident that Zhi Bai wasn't talking about me."

As for who it is, you can find out yourselves.

Jiang Lan then said to Chen Pinhe with an innocent look, "However, Teacher Chen really suffered an undeserved disaster. It has absolutely nothing to do with Teacher Chen. Zhi Bai is right."

Chen Pinhe: "..."

He smiled, indicating that he didn't mind.

No one knows what he was really thinking.

When asked why he took on the spin-off series "The Seventeenth Floor," Chen Pinhe said, "The Seventeenth Floor actually has a large audience worldwide. When Director Jiang approached me, I initially refused. After all, the original series was already a masterpiece and so successful. Why would I want to interfere? Later, Director Jiang told me that this was about creating a story with different characters within the same worldview, which could further enrich the worldview. After reading the script, I realized that it was a genre I had never worked on before, so I thought I might as well give it a try. With that in mind, I accepted the role."

Jiang Lan said, "Teacher Chen is a very famous and influential film emperor in the world. Before we invited him, we didn't know if he would agree. In fact, we basically invited him with the idea that he would definitely not agree. Unexpectedly, Teacher Chen was very willing to try such a new subject matter."

"As everyone knows, our 'Seventeen Floors' trilogy was created by outstanding actors such as Lu Yanhe, Chen Bige, Jiang Jun, and Li Yuefeng. So, if we want to create a spin-off series, we naturally need to invite equally excellent actors to lead the series. Therefore, when Mr. Chen agreed to star in this spin-off series, we at Beijing TV decided without hesitation to go all out to create this series."

"Whether it's the world-building, the special effects, or the overall visual art, I can proudly say that this is a movie-level TV series. It has a total of 16 episodes and will be broadcast simultaneously on Beijing TV, Maxine, and Chestnut Video. Watching 'The Seventeen Floors: Reboot' during this National Day holiday is definitely a top priority for everyone."

-

“I’ve watched a few episodes of ‘Grass on the Grass’, and it’s an outstanding TV series,” Lu Yanhe said. “If Li Zhibai didn’t have enough experience as a producer when he was making ‘Nineteen Years’, this time he has fully demonstrated his abilities. He has secured enough funding to bring in top-notch production talent for the cinematography, art direction, makeup, and sound effects departments.”

"I can say without hesitation that 'Grass on the Grass' represents the level of martial arts TV series that I most hope to film one day." Lu Yanhe appeared in the behind-the-scenes footage of "Grass on the Grass," which was a video of him being interviewed after watching the edited sample. "This is not because Li Zhibai is my friend. As everyone knows, I actually have a special fondness for the martial arts genre. I like 'Nine Yin Manual' and I also wrote 'Dragon Inn.' But in my heart, the martial arts genre actually has a very important dimension: the transformation of youth, the treacherous nature of the martial arts world, the gathering of heroes, and the epic and moving story. This requires a lot of space, and a two-hour movie cannot contain it all."

"Li Zhibai's Li Xiaoyao in 'Chinese Paladin' is somewhat exaggerated like an idol drama—that's because of the script. But in 'Grasshopper,' I can only say that Li Zhibai is incredibly handsome. I know his usual personality so well, but I was still shocked by Li Zhibai in 'Grasshopper'—I almost didn't recognize him."

...

No one expected that the fiercest competition during the National Day holiday would not be among the movies, but rather among the two TV series.

At 8 PM on September 30th, "Grass on the Grass" dropped its final bombshell.

This time, "Flying on the Grass" will be broadcast on Yuehu TV, HP streaming platform, South Korea's TVN TV station, and Malaysia's national television station.

Yes, it has two more overseas markets than "The Seventeenth Floor: Reboot".

Yes, it's moving even faster in overseas distribution than the films released during the National Day holiday.

Jump Up International Media announced that the manga adaptation of "Grasshopper," created by renowned Japanese manga artist Yuko Harano, will premiere on October 1st on PG-X, the world's largest online comic platform, with simultaneous serialization and seven consecutive days of updates.

-

In terms of global operational capabilities, there are almost no domestic players who can match the resources Lu Yanhe utilizes.

Jump up and take charge of multiple traditional media such as comics, novels, and magazines, and can collaborate with multiple overseas partners.

With abundant overseas media resources and an international artist network, a group of overseas artists, led by Cai Na, can expand the reach of a work's publicity in their respective countries through their social media platforms.

Linghe, on the other hand, is a legitimate film and television company with an established network of overseas distributors. For suitable projects, collaborations are established directly in advance. For example, the airing of "Grasshopper" on tvN at 10 PM is due to three factors: first, Lee Ji-baek's success in the Western market after "Buried Alive" has earned him considerable prestige; second, his works like "You Are the Apple of My Eye," "Chinese Paladin," and "Even Faking Death Is Not an Option" have garnered him immense popularity and recognition in South Korea; and third, Linghe's relationship with Kim Eon-sook, a high-ranking executive at tvN. With the green light given, Chinese-language dramas are also translated in advance for direct broadcast.

All of this is thanks to Li Zhibai's substantial control over "Grass on the Grass," which allowed him to directly finalize the overseas distribution of the series, with Linghe in charge, and also to make the decision to cooperate with Jumping Media.

It's important to understand that it's often impossible for one person to decide on so many aspects of a production. Each aspect involves a significant amount of money. Investors and platforms have their own established partners. A project might be done with either Company A or Company B, but if you choose Company A, Company B will naturally object, and you might need their support in the future, which is why Company B might not cooperate with you.

In this situation, each chosen partner is essentially a division of interests and resources.

Li Zhibai made many decisions very forcefully, and without question.

At that moment, the facts proved his decision to be correct.

His decision resulted in "Grass on the Grass" already generating profits from copyright fees before its premiere. While it's generally true that television production companies profit before airing, this isn't based on box office revenue.

The copyright fees earned by "Grasshopper" through various channels, including HP, TVN, and Malaysian national television, have exceeded thirty million US dollars. In short, the initial overseas distribution fees alone have already recouped all production costs and generated a profit.

The reason "Grasshopper" was able to sell for such a price is because of its lead actor, Li Zhibai, and the fact that the martial arts genre has a fixed audience. The fact that someone was willing to pay that price, or that someone was willing to pay at that time, is naturally the result of Linghe acting as a middleman.

On October 1, the day of its premiere, before the show aired, "Grasshopper" announced that HP had acquired the exclusive streaming rights, excluding the Asian market, for $24 million.

Price figures are the best, most natural form of advertising.

Similarly, price figures are also the most objective measure.

Following closely behind, Maxine also announced that the price of each episode of "The Floor of Seventeen: Reboot" has surpassed the previous price of each episode of "The Floor of Seventeen".

Chen Ziyan could tell at a glance that the total price was definitely lower than that of "Grass on the Grass".

The press release will be arranged directly.

The quality of the series "The Seventeen Floors: Reboot" did not meet Maxine's expectations, so Maxine offered a lower price than originally planned.

As for whether it's true or false?

Let them respond.

First, use this kind of insider information to criticize the quality of "Seventeen Floors: Reboot".

Subsequently, Chen Ziyan further focused her attacks on Chen Pinhe's salary, directly spreading rumors that Chen Pinhe's salary for each episode of "The Seventeen Floors: Reboot" was as high as 1 million US dollars, and that he received more than 100 million RMB in salary for the entire series, accounting for half of the production budget of "The Seventeen Floors: Reboot".

These kinds of rumors are the hardest to respond to.

The production company and Chen Pinhe can certainly respond that their salaries were not that high.

So how high is it exactly?

This remains the most difficult and challenging issue for Lu Yanhe to address, and the same is true for Chen Pinhe.

Zhang Yue was caught completely off guard.

She never expected that Chen Ziyan would use her film salary to attack Chen Pinhe.

At this time, Beijing and Taiwan certainly didn't want to see "The Seventeen Floors: Reboot" embroiled in scandal due to the excessively high salaries of its lead actors. They immediately arranged for someone to respond, saying that the price was seriously untrue. In fact, Chen Pinhe's salary accounted for no more than 20% of the total production budget of the series.

Chen Ziyan's online troll team immediately launched an attack—

The production budget for "The Seventeen Floors: Reboot" was previously announced by Beijing and Taiwan as exceeding 200 million RMB. Chen Pinhe's salary accounted for no more than 20%, which is close to 20%. So even if his salary did not exceed 100 million RMB, he could still get at least 40 million RMB.

For a 16-episode drama, Chen Pinhe received a salary of 40 million RMB.

Zhang Yuezhen has also made her move.

Her method was to have online trolls promote Lu Yanhe's film and television fees over the past few years to divert public attention.

High pay?

There are even higher ones.

Chen Ziyan was prepared.

Lu Yanhe's high salary is based on the Hollywood salary system. In China, the highest price he ever received for acting in a TV series did not exceed 8% of the production cost of a series.

Because he receives bonuses and a share of the profits.

The key point is that Lu Yanhe doesn't receive this salary domestically.

He earns high salaries in Hollywood, and the market has proven that he's worth it.

What gives you, Chen Pinhe, the right to receive such a high salary?

Chen Ziyan immediately unleashed a fatal blow—

Chen Pinhe starred in the English-language series "Death Stranding" produced by Maxine last year, and his salary was only $50,000 per episode. For the 12 episodes, he only received about 4.2 million RMB in salary.

Compared to "The Seventeenth Floor: Reboot", it's 10 times worse.

Chen Pinhe takes low pay for leading roles in Hollywood, but when he comes to China, he demands exorbitant fees.

Lu Yanhe has always controlled his pricing for domestic projects, usually through bonuses and profit sharing, so that his income is subject to the same risk of loss as the work itself—a win-win situation where one's success is tied to the other's.

This method is still expensive, but compared to Chen Pinhe's, it's much more reasonable.

(End of this chapter)