Chapter 207 Situation Comedy
Chapter 207 Situation Comedy
The preparation period for film and television dramas is generally quite long.
If everything goes well, it can be completed in four to six months. However, if there are problems with the script, actors or funding, it is common for it to be delayed for a year or two.
Fan Wumian doesn't need to worry, as his schedule for this year is already fully booked.
"A Quiet Place 2" has not been filmed yet, and I will be making a cameo appearance in "Mission: Impossible 11" in November. If there is still time before the Spring Festival, I will finish filming my previous Korean drama "Goblin: The Lonely and Great God" in advance.
Fan Wumian himself doesn't like the routine of Korean dramas, but many viewers are very obsessed with them.
Following "Dae Jang Geum" which still maintained the top ratings in Hong Kong this year, Hong Kong has introduced several more Korean dramas, all of which, without exception, have been very popular with the audience, which has directly led to a surge in the prices of Korean dramas purchased by various TV stations.
Some relevant practitioners even complained to reporters that once the door to mass-import of Korean dramas was opened, the already unsustainable Hong Kong TV drama industry would be made even worse.
The idea was to follow the Korean drama's routine and leave those South Korean film and television companies with no way out.
Fan Wumian made major changes to the background story of the script of "Goblin: The Lonely and Great God" and created a fictional history.
The story of the whole drama is about a prince who returns from a great victory, but is framed by his brothers, involved in a fight for the throne, and killed by his own men. He is unexpectedly unable to reincarnate, and after consulting a Feng Shui master, he learns that he needs to marry his destined bride in order to lift the "curse" of immortality.
Time flies, and hundreds of years pass in the blink of an eye.
The protagonist has long adapted to modern life. By supporting a family that has always taken care of him, he has secretly become the richest man in Asia, with assets spread across all walks of life.
However, the protagonist has completely lost interest in money, fame, and fortune. He has seen generation after generation die out, and has had enough of living for hundreds of years. He only wants to be free as soon as possible.
On a rainy night, a pregnant woman was hit by a car. Before she died, she kept begging someone to save the baby in her belly.
The protagonist was kind-hearted and helped her, and as a result, he became closely connected with the girl in the pregnant woman's belly.
It looks like a magical drama, but it's mainly about love.
Add to that some elements of domineering boss, suspense, healing, etc., and these many requirements have overwhelmed the screenwriters under Fan Wumian. They have been busy catching up on Korean dramas such as "Full House", "Dae Jang Geum", "Autumn in My Heart", "Winter Sonata", etc.
It has to be said that compared with Hong Kong dramas, which are simple, direct, and cost-effective and efficient, Korean dramas are much more delicate in terms of emotions and plot.
of course.
In order to prevent the film from involving ghosts and monsters and thus failing to pass censorship in mainland China, another version of the story background was prepared, which was disguised as pseudoscience.
Fan Wumian's schedule is full, but there are only a few actors appearing in "A Quiet Place 2", and he can't reach out to the crew of "Mission: Impossible 3". In order to find resources for his contracted artists, he can only hurry up and set up new projects on his own while looking for blockbuster projects worthy of investment.
It was almost noon on the 5th.
Fan Wumian was just about to return to Repulse Bay to continue writing the script of "Lost on Journey" as soon as possible when he heard from assistant Pu Jiajing that his agent Jiang Shixi had sent him an email with a list of TV series and movies that were being prepared and were seeking to raise funds.
Six to seven hundred TV series are successfully produced every year, but there are also many projects that are approved but never filmed, and the same is true for film projects.
Wanting to continue buying some popular dramas like the poor crew of "Wulin Waijia" is tantamount to panning for gold in the waves. Even if Fan Wumian comes to the door, the other party may not be willing to sell it.
Many large-scale TV drama projects involve state-owned enterprises, mainly TV stations, and they are not short of money at all.
For example, "Super Girl", which is backed by Hubei Radio and Television, obviously has no chance to reap the benefits.
The reason why the variety show "Running Man" has not been launched yet is that it does not have its own broadcasting channels and cannot be sold to the outside world at a high price for the time being.
Now that he is not so short of money, Fan Wumian has put the idea of filming a variety show on hold and plans to wait until next year.
Agent Jiang Shixi has sent him a list of film and television projects more than once.
Fan Wumian had never even heard of most of the projects and had no interest in getting involved.
Today is a little different.
Because he saw "Home with Kids 2" from more than ten lists.
Notes read
——"(It has been filmed, but the investors are short of funds and are looking for partners. It is also a sitcom. The ratings of the first "Home with Kids" did not make it into the top 50 in the country. I do not recommend it.)"
Jiang Shixi is very serious about his work. He would not just give Fan Wumian a name and let him guess the rest.
Behind every film and television project, there is written the relevant information that has been inquired about. Some have notes like "key support from satellite TV stations" and some say "the investor is an outsider, but is said to have hundreds of millions of assets".
"Home with Kids 2" is obviously not taken seriously. This sentence is the only thing following the project name, and it doesn't even mention which company is investing.
impression.
Domestic sitcoms were made popular by the TV series "Wulin Waijia".
After the younger generation began to control the remote controls at home, they no longer had the patience to slowly catch up with TV series, so short and fast-paced sitcoms had a chance to stand out, and then the phenomenal "Love Apartment" emerged.
but.
The ratings of the first season of "Home with Kids" did not even rank in the top 50, which made Fan Wumian feel incredible. After all, he remembered that he could often watch this drama on TV.
After a little thought.
I think it’s possible that after it became a hit, various TV stations rushed to rebroadcast it.
Although it was not appropriate to use this drama to promote his artists, Fan Wumian had the rare thought of buying out the company at a low price, so he called Jiang Shixi and asked directly:
"Brother Jiang, I received the list of projects. For the sitcom "Home with Kids," do you think there's a chance to buy the entire copyright?"
Jiang Shixi was stunned for two seconds before asking back:
"Why would I be interested in it? Some projects are very good, such as the Ming Dynasty 1566. Historical TV series are quite popular this year, and it is also a project led by Hubei Radio and Television." Fan Wumian said nonsense:
"Cooperation with TV stations may be stable, but it is difficult to make money. The pace of life is getting faster and faster now, and sitcoms may become a new popular trend."
"I watched a few episodes of Home With Kids when I was in Beijing, and I thought it was pretty good. It will also be suitable for broadcasting on online video platforms in the future."
"People won't have the patience to watch TV shows slowly, but watching one or two sitcoms before meals or bedtime can help relax the body and mind and relieve stress."
Jiang Shixi told:
"I'm in Shenzhen now. I'll ask someone to find the contact information and call to ask."
"The ratings of the first season of Home With Kids were not very high, which resulted in the second season not being able to sell for a high price. The investors seemed to be under a lot of pressure. I remember the investment cost was around 300 million."
“Whether they are willing to sell or not, I don’t know yet, but if you are willing to provide some funds, the possibility of cooperation should be very high.”
Outside capital has just begun to enter the film and television industry.
Nowadays, most film and television companies are run by people in the industry who have connections and resources. They try every means to raise funds and then make TV series and sell them to TV stations.
The profit is not high, and a return rate of about 30% is already very good, and it is hard-earned money.
Thanks to "A Quiet Place", mobile phone ringtones, advertising endorsements, investment income, album income, etc., Fan Wumian's net worth has reached the threshold of 10 billion Hong Kong dollars. In the mainland entertainment industry of this era, he is a veritable "capital tycoon."
The money spent on buying a jade pigeon egg is more than the total investment cost of "Wulin Waijia" and the first and second parts of "Home with Kids" combined.
When it comes to status in the underworld, it’s no joke.
So ever since the news came out that "Wulin Waijia" was bought by Fan Wumian at a high price, crews have been trying every means to contact him. Some want to attract some investment, while others hope to be bought out and cash out. There are countless mainland film and television companies seeking cooperation, all wanting to try their luck.
pity.
Fan Wumian was not very interested in them and was mainly busy preparing his own dramas.
In 2005, there were too few moviegoers in cinemas, and the broadcasting channels of TV dramas were completely monopolized by TV stations. The golden age of the film and television industry had not yet arrived.
In fact, most of his assets came from "A Quiet Place". He made a lot of money from Hollywood. After getting the capital, he indirectly made more money through investment.
If he hadn't accidentally sold the overseas distribution rights of "A Quiet Place" for a sky-high price, he would have earned at most 200 to 300 million Hong Kong dollars just by releasing albums, mobile phone ringtones and advertising endorsements, which would have been the ceiling of the Asian entertainment industry.
After all the hard work, the profits earned are limited, which is one of the main reasons why Fan Wumian spends a lot of time and energy on other things.
Another major reason is that after working as a wage earner for so many years, people want to enjoy life comfortably.
Holding the phone, Fan Wumian continued to ask: "How strong is the production company of the "Home with Kids" series?"
Jiang Shixi didn't even think about it and explained:
"That's it. Maybe there is some connection. Otherwise, how can we continue to invest in the second part when the ratings of the first part are so-so? I need to know the details. Boss, are you sure you want to buy it?"
"Well, it would be best if we could buy it out in one package. There is no problem with cooperative investment either. The Mission: Impossible 3 crew is about to transfer $130 million in salary to my account. The finances of both sides have already started to connect, so this money can be used."
Fan Wumian has his own traffic.
I think that during the peak summer vacation season, there is an opportunity to sell the rebroadcast rights of "Home with Kids 1" to some interested TV stations in advance.
As a top-tier celebrity with extremely high fame, doing this type of business is more advantageous. Just like when celebrities invest in restaurants, inns and hotels, it is easier to get attention and have the opportunity to monetize their fame.
After hanging up the phone.
The first thing that came to my mind was the new trend of sitcoms, and then I thought of "Love Apartment".
In the past, people always said that it borrowed a lot of plots from "Friends", but in fact it borrowed more plots from the American TV series "How I Met Your Mother".
Now that "How I Met Your Mother" has not been released yet, some of the plots have been filmed in advance, which naturally cannot be considered plagiarism in the eyes of others.
but.
The thought of finding new actors to reshoot "Love Apartment" always made Fan Wumian feel a little uncomfortable, but if he invested in this sitcom, not only would the preparation period be shorter, it would also save money and help make Liu Shishi, Yang Mi and others famous.
Thinking of this, new questions arise.
Situation comedies can easily make people feel involved, which can make it difficult to transform in the future, such as Sun Yizhou who played "Lü Ziqiao" in "Love Apartment".
Fan Wumian had worked with him on other projects before, but privately, people in the crew called him "Lü Ziqiao".
This is both a good thing and a bad thing for actors.
The advantage is that it is easy to become famous, but the disadvantage is that once one role becomes famous, it is easy to lose other roles.
The star management department of Bandit King has already signed most of the actors from the "Wulin Waijia" crew. If there is another group of 2.0 version of "Love Apartment" actors, it will be difficult for them to film other roles in the future.
After careful consideration, Fan Wumian felt that he should wait a little longer.
Because even if "Love Apartment" was filmed in advance, the profit would be very limited, and it would be easy to waste a good script.
When more post-90s start to dominate their remote controls, the market prospects for urban sitcoms will become broad.
(End of this chapter)