Chapter 378 Storm

"How is the typhoon over there... You must ensure safety. If you can shoot indoor scenes during this period, do so, or just take a few days off. It doesn't matter as long as no one gets hurt... Okay, you're on the set, just take care of it yourself."

"Don't worry, Brother Meng, we'll be careful here."

In the office, seeing Meng Bai hang up the phone, Liu Jun, who was sitting opposite, asked: "How is it, is there anything wrong?"

"It's okay, the local area issued an early warning message, and Liu Zhi and the others also made preparations in advance. Except for a damaged set, everything else is fine." Meng Bai said.

"That's good." Liu Jun also breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Props and scenes don't matter, as long as no one gets hurt."

In mid-September, the super typhoon "Mangkhut" officially landed in the southeastern coastal areas, and many provinces and cities including Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan were all affected.

Zhanjiang, the filming location of the "Hidden Corner" crew, was the first to be hit, and it happened to be within the landing range.

The show started filming at the end of last month, and now is the time to shoot against the clock. In addition, there are many young actors in the crew this time, and if there is a problem, it will be a big deal. Therefore, Meng Bai called Liu Zhi and Xin Shuang from the crew as soon as he saw the news.

Fortunately, they took precautions in advance and have suspended the filming of outdoor scenes in the past few days, so they have not been affected too much.

Typhoon Mangkhut ravaged the southeast and became a hot topic of discussion among the people during this period. In the film and television industry, a "super typhoon" is also gradually brewing.

The Weibo that Meng Bai forwarded was immediately confirmed after Guo Jingyu himself left a message and comment.

For this big man who created "Arc Light Film and Television", the top film and television team in the domestic entertainment industry, everyone in the industry naturally knows it, but netizens and audiences outside the circle have always heard more and understood less.

If it were another ordinary behind-the-scenes staff, not many people would care. The star artists in front of the stage can't keep up, who will pay attention to you, a person behind the scenes.

But this big man's experience is too legendary, and he can come up with three or four hit dramas every year, which is really hard not to care about.

Being young, handsome, self-made, and low-key, these traits make him more easily accepted by the new generation of netizens.

In addition, he spoke out for justice this time and was the first to stand up and support Guo Jingyu in "exposing the fraudulent ratings". He even appeared on the social platform for

the first time, which naturally aroused the public's emotions. On the day when the Weibo was sent out, under the hot search term "fraudulent ratings", Meng Bai's reposts even surpassed the popularity of Guo Jingyu's original text.

On the hot list, there was a new hot search #弧光影视孟白声拥#.

A stone stirs up a thousand waves. Such high popularity naturally attracted many people in the circle to join the "battlefield".

The first to speak out was Wang Changtian, the boss of Guangguang. He said that as early as 2015, Guangguang Media resolutely withdrew from the TV drama program market because of dissatisfaction with the problem of fraudulent ratings.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Sicheng also sent a Weibo, saying that before the broadcast of "Great Expectations", he also received a request to "buy ratings" and would be attacked by opponents if he did not buy them.

[I wanted to rise up, but my wife persuaded me to stop. But if this problem is not solved, I will never get involved in TV dramas again.]

Because of his repeated cheating incidents, Chen Sicheng's reputation on the Internet is not good. But this time he stood on the side of most viewers, so there was no scolding. At most, people complained that "if you don't dare to say it, you don't dare to say it, but you have to blame your wife."

After that, several emerging companies in the film and television industry, such as Huace, Noon Sunshine, Xinli, Lemon, etc., also posted on Weibo to express their support.

In the end, even Qiyi TV, Tencent Video, Youku, and Mango TV joined in the fun. The official accounts of several companies all squeezed under Meng Bai's Weibo, secretly saying that "there are too many shady dealings in the traditional TV drama market, so it's better to go to video websites and broadcast online."

However, netizens are not fools, and they scolded: "You are all birds of a feather. First, take care of the water injection of tens of billions of playbacks before talking about others!"

It can only be said that several websites are a bit self-humiliating this time.

With such a huge popularity, it is impossible for the authorities not to see it. The day after Meng Bai's Weibo post became popular, the Radio and Television Bureau issued an official notice.

[In response to the public opinion and feedback on the ratings issue, the responsible comrades of the relevant departments stated that they have taken measures and will work with relevant parties to conduct investigations. Once the illegal and irregular issues are verified, they will be dealt with seriously. ]

The length of this notice is very short, only about fifty words, which seems inconspicuous.

But as we all know, official statements are like meetings. The fewer words, the bigger the matter. What's more, this time it is no longer an industry organization such as the "TV Drama Association" or the "Film and Television Production Association" that issued a document, but a direct statement from the Radio and Television Bureau.

Therefore, Meng Bai's previous guess is likely to be correct. The authorities may really want to take this opportunity to clear up a wave of chaos in the film and television industry.

"In the past few days, many people in the industry have contacted me and asked if we plan to issue an industry joint statement to support this "crackdown on ratings fraud" incident." Liu Jun said.

Meng Bai snorted and laughed: "We are charging in the front, and they are waiting to drink soup in the back. They are really good at calculating."

"Haha, it's normal for everyone to be like this." Liu Jun smiled and said: "In fact, it's also good news. The fact that so many people have come to us also shows that Arclight's current influence and status are at the top of the industry, and all the previous work has not been in vain."

After that, he returned to his serious face and said: "And I think that although it will be a bit troublesome to take the initiative to stand up, it is actually an opportunity."

"Oh, what do you mean?"

"No matter how powerful a company is, it can't match the entire industry after all. If we can be the representative of the industry, then our weight on the official side will not be as simple as a top film and television company. At that time, if we can take advantage of the situation to become a link between the upper and lower levels, and bring some official status, then we can really stand firm in this circle."

The domestic environment is different from that of foreign countries. If you want to really become the top, capital alone is not enough, and you must have official support.

Today's Arclight Film and Television has funds, strength, reputation, and connections. The only thing it lacks is the relationship with the upper level.

There are two ways to build this kind of relationship, either from top to bottom or from bottom to top.

The former requires innate qualities, which Arclight Films obviously cannot count on. What we can do now is to cultivate it by relying on our own advantages.

This storm caused by "ratings fraud" is actually an opportunity. If we can dig out opportunities in this matter, we may be able to get some official support.

Liu Jun didn't expect any obvious results from this one time, but as long as he got on the bus, Arc Light would have many opportunities to expand slowly in the future.

Meng Bai naturally understood what the other party meant. After thinking for a while, he said, "Let's do this. The relevant departments will organize a meeting in a few days. It is estimated that it will discuss the problem of the chaos of "film and television ratings". I will mention it when the situation is met. If it is suitable, we can try it."

"Okay, then this part depends on you." Liu Jun said, "We are here in the company, you can rest assured."

After that, he said happily, "In short, let's try it first. If it works, it's best. If it doesn't work, we will look for opportunities later. Arc Light is still very young, and the thing it lacks the least is time."

"Haha, yes, we still have a lot of time." Meng Bai smiled and said, "Time is the biggest capital, and we still have many possibilities."

——The

official action was very fast. After the notice was issued, an investigation meeting of the film and television industry was convened within two days.

However, unlike what Meng Bai expected, the specifications of this meeting were much higher than all the meetings he had attended before. The organizer was not the Radio and Television Bureau itself, but was jointly convened by multiple departments such as the Central Propaganda Department, Culture and Tourism Bureau, Radio and Television Bureau,

and Taxation Bureau. Not many film and television industry practitioners were invited to attend the meeting, including senior leaders of several provincial satellite TV stations such as Mango and Oriental, the heads of the three major video platforms, and the bosses of film and television companies including Huace, Noon Sunshine, and Arc Light Film and Television.

Meng Bai participated in the meeting as a representative of the online drama production field and a new generation of young film and television practitioners. He was also the youngest participant on the scene.

At first, he thought it was just a discussion about the issue of "ratings fraud", but the actual content of the meeting was far more than that.

Fan economy, data injection, traffic water army, sky-high pay, tax evasion, ratings fraud, marketing accounts and self-media to guide public opinion...

Almost all the problems in the film and television entertainment industry in recent years were put forward at one time.

The meeting lasted for a total of two days, and the content involved was not made public. It was only claimed to be an industry self-discipline and self-correction rectification.

Meng Bai did not waste the opportunity and took the opportunity to issue a joint statement from the industry to support the official cleansing investigation.

Of course, it is definitely not our President Meng's style to work hard in the front and then watch others eat soup. So when making suggestions, he pulled in all the companies that had contacted Arc Light before.

Aren't you willing to instigate? Okay, then everyone should come together and no one should be idle.

For this kind of spontaneous behavior in the industry, the official departments are naturally happy to hear about it. Seeing that Arc Light has so much "support", let Meng Bai be responsible for integrating this matter, and then cooperate with the action according to the progress of the above investigation.

When the bigwigs of the platforms and film and television companies who attended the meeting heard the news, they all looked at Meng Bai with complicated expressions, with expressions of both emotion and relief.

In a sense, before the whole thing is completely over, this is equivalent to a "Sword of Imperial Sword". Arc Light can use the official excuse to expand its power and influence.

But at the same time, this is also a "double-edged sword". After all, this matter will affect the interests of many people, and whoever takes over the responsibility will be the target of public criticism.

For old forces like them who have already established their positions, this matter is a big trouble with little benefit, which is very useless.

But for "newcomers" like Arclight Film and Television, this is an opportunity to coexist risks and benefits.

If it can be successfully implemented in the end, then from now on Arclight can really be regarded as a big boss in the film and television industry.

...

Although the official did not announce the relevant news, various rumors were still heard in the circle.

The core of it is naturally Meng Bai who participated in the joint meeting.

"It is said that the leading companies attending the meeting this time are Arclight Film and Television, and they are going to organize the industry to issue a statement to boycott the chaos in the film and television industry."

"What! The relevant departments are going to form an industry alliance, let Arclight

Film and Television take the lead, and launch an action to thoroughly investigate the film and television industry?" "Hey, I just heard the news. It is said that the higher-ups have long been dissatisfied with those old-fashioned film and television capitals, so this time

they want to replace a group of new forces, and Arclight Film and Television seems to be the first to start." "Have you heard that Mr. Meng of Arclight is backed by a big boss in the cultural department. This action is a test for him. As long as it succeeds, he will be the new leader in the future."

"You know everything, right? There is someone behind Arclight Film and Television. Their young boss was specially placed outside to provide financial support. Now you know why they are developing so fast!"

"..."

Rumors are always getting more and more outrageous. The key is that as long as the number of people spreading it is large enough, even if some people feel that this matter is unreliable, they can only believe it with others.

When Meng Bai heard the people below the company reporting these rumors in the circle, he couldn't help but be stunned.

Good guy, he himself didn't know that his background was so deep!

He doubted whether these people had no brains at all. Such an outrageous rumor was just nonsense if one tried to understand it.

If someone really had such a great background, why would he bother to run a film and television company? He could just do a monopoly industry such as qualification licensing.

It can only be said that practitioners in the film and television entertainment industry are of varying quality, and everyone is willing to believe it rather than not.

However, this saved Meng Bai a lot of trouble. He didn't have to contact and communicate with these companies one by one, and could just sit in the office and wait for them to come.

After hearing that they were expected to join the industry joint statement, the heads of these companies who came up became more convinced of the rumors. One by one, they patted their chests and said that it was no problem, and they would follow Mr. Meng's lead.

Of course, there are tens of thousands of film and television companies across the country, and it is impossible for them all to unite. So in fact, Meng Bai only needs to communicate with the top and first-tier companies, and mainly with those in northern Beijing.

Things went more smoothly than expected, and Meng Bai was able to spare some energy for the online drama "Detective Chinatown" and the second movie to be released during the National Day.

As early as the start of the multi-department joint meeting, the online drama "Detective Chinatown" had already started airing. As soon as the mini-volume of ten episodes per season was announced, it was welcomed by many fans and viewers.

These days, everyone's pace of life is fast. A drama can easily be thirty or fifty episodes long, which is really hard to keep up with.

Coupled with various slow-paced shots, plot flashbacks, and nagging emotional dramas, everyone is forced to watch the drama at twice the speed per person. Some viewers who even think that the two-time speed is slow simply watch the "Watch XX in one breath" series of those film and television bloggers.

Therefore, when faced with the number of episodes announced for the online drama "Detective Chinatown", many viewers thought they had seen it wrong.

There are a total of ten episodes, two episodes a week, and it ends in a month, which is really worry-free.

Of course, the size of the drama is only part of it, and the key lies in the quality. Everyone can accept a good drama with 50 episodes, but can't stand a bad drama for five minutes.

However, when the audience saw Meng Bai written in the "Screenwriter" column on the promotional poster, they put their worries aside.

If "Archlight Production" still needs to be considered, then "Screenwriter Meng Bai" really just needs to put their minds at ease and watch it.

In the first episode, #网剧《唐探》# directly rushed to the hot search, and the discussion volume and popularity far exceeded all film and television works of the same period.

However, unlike in the past, perhaps affected by the recent turmoil in the film and television industry, the broadcasting platform Qiyi TV closed the front-end playback volume display and replaced it with a new data called "heat value".

Qiyi TV announced that in order to break the view of "traffic only theory", the playback volume data will be cancelled from now on.

It has to be said that as a leading video platform, the reaction speed is fast. As soon as the meeting was over, there were rectification measures immediately.

In comparison, Tencent Video and Youku reacted a step slower, but it is said that they are also discussing whether to make changes internally.

For Arclight, the data of the online drama "Detective Chinatown" is of course of concern, but they are more concerned about the audience's feedback on the role linkage and the warm-up effect on the movie.

The statistical data shows that the response to both points is good.

The role linkage is naturally very happy for the audience who have watched the previous works of the "Green Ivy Series", and the audience who have not watched it is not disgusted because the plot insertion is not abrupt. Some even took the initiative to ask who the linked characters involved are and which work they are from.

At the same time, after the new settings of "Global Detective Alliance" came out, the audience also looked forward to the upcoming "Detective Chinatown 2".

Chen Sicheng struck while the iron was hot and started the pre-movie promotion work. The "audience wants to watch" on Maoyan and Tao Piao Piao has reached one million.

Judging from the popularity in the early stage, the box office of this one will definitely exceed the first one.

Speaking of box office, Arclight's first main control movie "Psychological Crime: City Lights" has finally been released recently.

Affected by the start of school and the typhoon in the south, the final total box office failed to break through 900 million and was fixed at 867 million.

Although it is a pity, it is quite unexpected to have such a result, so there is no regret.

After the movie is released, Arclight can also recover its energy and focus on the release of "Detective Chinatown 2".

The hot spots in the entertainment industry always change quickly. In a few days, the discussion of "ratings fraud" has dropped, and it has been replaced by various fresh melons.

For example, the first idol girl group in China, Rocket Girls 101, which debuted just one month ago, was revealed to have three members, Meng Meiqi, Wu Xuanyi, and Zining, quit the group.

Among these three, Meng Meiqi and Wu Xuanyi were the first and second members of the group. Now that they have left at the same time, let’s not talk about the external impact, but within the team, Yang Chaoyue, who ranked third, did nothing and inexplicably became the new C position!

(End of this chapter)