Chapter 107 CCTV Negotiations
After more than half an hour of hard work, Cai Yinong finally led everyone to complete the crew's start-up worship ceremony.
Finally, director Wei Hantao unveiled the red "evil-suppressing" silk covering the cameras and other equipment and announced that the crew had officially started filming.
Liu Shishi stood in the crowd, sometimes looking around curiously, sometimes applauding enthusiastically with everyone, looking like a cute newcomer.
Today she put on beautiful makeup and changed into costumes early in the morning. At this moment, she was wearing exquisite ancient costume, with fluttering sleeves and as light as a swallow. She stood out among all the actors.
Tangren Film and Television has always paid attention to details. The costume worn by Liu Shishi is elegant in color. The collar, cuffs and hem are embroidered with delicate patterns, including flowers, birds, fish, insects, clouds, water and Zen. Every stitch and thread reveals Tangren's pursuit of high-quality film and television works.
Liu Shishi's hairstyle is also a highlight of her ancient costume look. Her hair is skillfully woven into a complex antique bun by the stylist.
Her long hair hangs down gracefully, and is accessorized with exquisite pearls, jade, gold hairpins and other hair accessories, which set off her beautiful face and add a bit of the charm of a classical beauty, making Miss Liu look more beautiful than flowers.
Cai Yinong stared at his sister in costume and looked at her carefully, and immediately praised her.
Two fellow senior brothers, Hu Ge and Yuan Hong, were also deeply amazed by Miss Liu's graceful appearance in ancient costume. They never expected that the usually cute and naive little sister could be so dazzling and outstanding in ancient costume.
Liu Shishi, who was participating in the worship ceremony for the first time, was a little excited and asked curiously, "Old Hu, does the company always make such a big fuss every time they shoot a movie?"
Hu Ge had similar experiences and knew the startup practices of Tangren Company.
“Several directors who work with our company are from Hong Kong. Sister K also worked there before and was deeply influenced by it.
This is the trend in Hong Kong and Taiwan, people believe in this more, so the opening ceremony is held in a grand manner. Besides, a grand ceremony can also be regarded as a form of publicity. "
Liu Shishi nodded, not quite understanding. This was her first time attending such a grand opening ceremony. When she was filming "Moon Shadow and Wind Lotus", the opening ceremony was just a formality.
The sense of ceremony was completely different from that of "Young Generals of the Yang Family", not to mention the crew of "Nightclub", which didn't even hold any opening ceremony except for a press conference.
Just when I was about to ask again, Cai Yinong and the director took out a thick stack of red envelopes and began to distribute them to everyone, from the leading actors to the miscellaneous staff on the crew, including the media reporters who came.
Cai Yinong is a very honest person. Although the amounts of the red envelopes varied, all crew members were given one. Everyone who received a red envelope had a bright smile on their face, and the entire crew was in a peaceful atmosphere.
Liu Shishi looked at the red envelope that Cai Yinong had just stuffed into her hand with surprise. There were four big golden characters "Good luck in starting the machine" printed on it, which looked festive and auspicious.
I opened it out of curiosity and found a hundred-dollar bill inside. Although the money was not much, it was considered a good luck and a token of my appreciation, which encouraged the crew to unite as one.
Liu Shishi glanced at the red envelope of Hu Ge beside her, and saw that he also took out a hundred-yuan bill. She nodded with satisfaction.
Song Ci had told her that she was the top lady in Tangren Company and her treatment could not be worse than that of the top man.
If I give Hu Ge 100 yuan for the red envelope and Hu Ge 200 yuan for the red envelope, wouldn't others look down on me as the top lady? So Sister K can't be partial to one and treat them equally.
After handing out the red envelopes, Cai Yinong asked several leading actors to take makeup photos and then accepted interviews from reporters.
Although Liu Shishi's ancient costume style is indeed eye-catching, the focus of the media is still on He Rundong and Hu Ge. They are busy interviewing the two and completely ignoring the other leading actors including Liu Shishi.
The only thing that comforted Liu Shishi was that the reporter contracted by Toutiao Entertainment asked her a few questions and took some beautiful makeup photos of her. With the current traffic of Toutiao.com, it is believed that the news release will bring her a wave of exposure and increase her popularity.
The young assistant Jiang Yuanyuan has been ready to create a forum for herself as soon as the work she starred in becomes famous.
The crew finally finished their busy morning of worshiping gods, handing out red envelopes, taking photos and conducting interviews. The reporters, who had received the news and benefits, left satisfied.
At noon, the sun was shining brightly in the sky. With a command from director Wei Hantao, the actors who needed to perform took their positions in front of the camera, and the filming of "Young Generals of the Yang Family" officially began.
In the dead of winter in December, the weather in Peking was cold and dry, with snowflakes falling from time to time.
In a conference room in the CCTV office building, Song Ci was rarely dressed in formal attire, but he looked a little listless. He was waiting for CCTV staff with Wang Jing and Zhang Zhao.
At the beginning of the month, Liu Shishi went to Hengdian to film a movie, and Chen Sisi was busy participating in the CCTV variety channel program "Challenge the Host" and had no time to bother him.
It's rare that I can have some quiet time, but unfortunately today I was dragged to CCTV by Wang Jing, so I look listless and a little reluctant.
Wang Jing was also helpless. "Wulin Waijia" had already entered the review stage. She was the producer and producer of "Wulin Waijia". In the spirit of doing things well from beginning to end, she had been responsible for coordinating with CCTV for this project.
Originally, negotiations between Tengda Culture and CCTV Art Center were in full swing, and the other party was also very interested in purchasing "Wulin Waijia" as the opening drama of CCTV-8's prime time in the new year.
However, during the most recent communication, the contact person at CCTV Art Center tactfully stated that a leader in the station wanted to take this opportunity to meet the young legendary chairman of Tengda Group.
Wang Jing then asked Zhang Zhao to come forward together. The two of them took a lot of effort to convince Song Ci and invited him to CCTV to see what the other party was up to.
The CCTV people did not keep the guests waiting for long. Just ten minutes after the three Tengda people sat down in the conference room, two people rushed into the meeting room.
Hearing the noise, Song Ci perked up and looked up. A calm and composed middle-aged man walked into the meeting room first.
Time seemed to be particularly kind to him, leaving only a few elegant lines on his face, which in turn added a bit of mature charm.
The other person was slightly older but obviously one body length behind, with a broad, square face that was weathered, calm and slightly marked by the years.
His hair was a little sparse, with a few strands of silver. He was holding a notebook in his hand, with his head lowered as if he was thinking about something. He looked like a man who got things done.
Seeing the newcomers entering the conference room, Wang Jing and Zhang Zhao quickly stood up from their seats. Song Ci did not act arrogantly or rudely either. He also stood up and looked at the two of them quietly.
Wang Jing showed a professional smile on her face and was the first to greet the older man: "Minister Ma!"
Zhang Zhao also greeted politely: "Hello, Minister Ma."
The elderly Minister Ma smiled gently and nodded in response, "Boss Wang, Boss Zhang, thank you for making another trip. Let me introduce you, this is Jiang Tao, Director of the CCTV Arts Center."
After saying that, he slightly turned sideways, leaving the main venue to the leader, and at the same time did not forget to introduce Jiang Tao: "Director Jiang, these two are the producers of "Wulin Wai Zhuan", Ms. Wang Jing, COO of Tengda Group, and Mr. Zhang Zhao, General Manager of Tengda Culture."
Finally, his eyes passed over the two of them and fell on Song Ci who was standing beside him. After a few seconds of pausing, he continued, "I think this is Chairman Song of Tengda Group. I am Mark, the director of the Film and Television Department of CCTV Art Center. Welcome."
As soon as Mark finished speaking, Jiang Tao walked steadily to Song Ci in three or two steps, showing his goodwill, and took the lead in extending his right hand, praising him repeatedly:
"Mr. Song, I have long heard of your great name. Today, after meeting you, I know that what they say on the Internet is true. You are truly as handsome as jade, unparalleled in the world, and a noble young man in the world."
The CCTV leader who wanted to meet Song Ci was Jiang Tao. Because a deputy director of CCTV in charge of the financial channel will retire in the second half of next year, and he is expected to take over, he wanted to take this opportunity to meet Song Ci, the business nobleman, in advance.
Jiang Tao was well-informed. He knew that his superiors had conducted a detailed investigation into Song Ci and that he had a clean record and a good family background, so he intended to set him up as an example.
In order to make him a model representative of the youth of the new century, the leaders went to Tengda Group to conduct research and express their condolences last month.
Both for official and private reasons, Jiang Tao wanted to get to know Song Ci, so he asked his subordinate Mark to invite Song Ci to CCTV under the pretext of discussing "Wulin Wai Zhuan".
Seeing Jiang Tao being so polite, Song Ci quickly extended his right hand and said modestly, "Director Jiang, you are so kind."
The two people's palms touched lightly in the air, and then held them tightly. Their eyes met and everything was said without words.
After Jiang Tao shook hands with Song Ci, he still politely shook hands with Wang Jing and Zhang Zhao respectively. His attitude was friendly and polite, which made people feel like spring breeze and immediately developed a good impression of them.
After a few pleasantries, the two sides sat down on either side of the rectangular conference table and began to talk about business.
As the host of this business negotiation, Jiang Tao was the first to speak: "Minister Ma, please report the opinions of the ministry to the three CEOs of Tengda Group."
Mark opened the notebook slowly and turned to a certain page. He glanced at it, as if he had memorized the contents in his mind, and then said aloud:
"Director Song, President Wang, President Zhang, the three of you and I will report the collective opinions of the Film and Television Department of the CCTV Art Center on the purchase of the TV series "Wulin Waijia"."
Song Ci was not nervous at all. He looked calm and composed. No matter what plan CCTV proposed first, he had his own ideas in his mind.
Upon hearing this, Wang Jing and Zhang Zhao immediately sat up straight, staring at Minister Ma's weather-beaten face, waiting for his report.
"Wulin Wai Zhuan, produced by Tengda Culture, is a costumed martial arts sitcom, which is initially scheduled to be edited into 81 episodes.
After review and evaluation by our Film and Television Department, we believe that the film is well-made and humorous, and can be considered a masterpiece.
Referring to the good performance of director Shang Jin's similar comedy "The Story of the Kitchen Team", the department believes that the film should have a certain audience.
However, considering that this is the first time that a costumed martial arts sitcom has been broadcast on CCTV, and there is no previous experience to refer to for ratings, the ministry finally made the offer... "
Having said that, Mark paused for a moment, looked up at the three people across the long table, as if to give people a psychological buffer, and then slowly said:
"The offer is 200,000 yuan per episode for the first round of exclusive purchase, totaling 16.2 million yuan."
Wang Jing was very disappointed when she heard this. The company had hoped that "Wulin Waijia" would be profitable in the first round of sales, but now it seems a bit difficult.
They also contacted Beijing Satellite TV, and the other party quoted 18 million yuan. For the difference of 1.8 million yuan, she would rather broadcast the drama on CCTV.
After all, CCTV is a golden brand, and its ratings are basically guaranteed. If the ratings in the first round are not bad, the second and third rounds can still make money.
Seeing that the three people from Tengda were silent, Jiang Tao realized that the offer of 16.2 million was far below the other party's expectations, and said to Song Ci sincerely: "Mr. Song, we at CCTV are very sincere about purchasing "Wulin Wai Zhuan", and the offer of 16.2 million is not low.
There is no precedent for this kind of film being broadcast on the station, and we are taking a big risk. If the ratings are not good, I, Jiang, will be held responsible.”
Song Ci had already made up his mind, and without beating around the bush, he directly revealed the plan he had in mind:
"Thank you Director Jiang for your courage and for giving Tengda Culture this opportunity, but I have a win-win proposal. Tengda can sign a bet agreement with CCTV."
"Betting agreement?" Everyone looked at Song Ci curiously, wanting to hear what this young legend had to say.
"If the ratings of 'Wulin Wai Zhuan' are less than 1%, CCTV only needs to pay 5 million yuan for the purchase.
Once the ratings exceed 1%, CCTV will have to pay 10 million yuan. At the same time, for every 0.5% increase in ratings, CCTV will have to pay an additional 5 million yuan, and so on."
Song Ci was well aware of the quality of "Wulin Waijiao". The drama was previously broadcast on CCTV, although the ratings on the first day of the premiere were average, only 1.95%.
But it soared to 4.26% on the next day, and reached a terrifying 9.49% on the tenth day of its broadcast, making it the best drama of the year in 2006.
Although the male lead in this life has been changed from Sha Yi to Qiao Zhengyu, given Qiao Zhengyu's fame, acting skills and ancient costume appearance, the quality of "Wulin Waijiao" is only better than the previous life.
Coupled with Tengda Group's current strong publicity and promotion capabilities, Song Ci is confident that "Wulin Waijia" can achieve a 10% viewership rate.
Even though Jiang Tao was knowledgeable and experienced, he still found the gambling agreement proposed by Song Ci novel.
In the past, CCTV purchased TV dramas outright. It is quite interesting to determine the purchase fee based on the ratings.
(End of this chapter)
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