novellhall Chapter 34 The Key to the Success of Idol Dramas
Chapter 34 The Key to the Success of Idol Dramas
Chapter 33 Cooperation Achieved
9 a.m. the next day.
After having breakfast, the two tidied up, prepared their celebrity travel gear (masks and sunglasses), and went downstairs together to the underground parking garage.
Xu Qing walked up to a black SUV, a Mercedes-Benz G-Class, and asked, "Ah Xuan, can you drive?"
Lin Zixuan was surprised that Xu Qing, who looked so gentle and weak, actually liked driving such rugged off-road vehicles. "Yes, I did. I took my driving test the summer before last."
What was even more unexpected was that Xu Qing handed the car keys to Lin Zixuan, saying, "Ah Xuan, it's inconvenient not to have a car in Beijing. You can drive this car for now."
He was taken aback. "Sister Qing, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
"What's wrong with it? It's just a car. Don't be so polite with me."
"I'll drive this car, so what are you going to do?"
"I don't only have one car. This red BMW next to me is also mine. I can drive this one."
"Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony."
Following the directions from the car's navigation system, the two drove to a quaint teahouse, the meeting place Xu Qing and Zhang Guoli had arranged.
The meeting was originally scheduled for 10 o'clock, but out of respect for the investors and industry veterans, they arrived 15 minutes early.
But to their surprise, Zhang Guoli arrived before them. When they entered the private room, they saw that Zhang Guoli was already brewing tea.
Xu Qing quickly pulled Lin Zixuan forward and respectfully bowed to Zhang Guoli. "Uncle Zhang, I'm sorry we're late. Let me introduce you. This is my junior from Beijing Film Academy, Lin Zixuan, who is also the creator of the script for 'Someday or One Day'."
As soon as Lin Zixuan entered the private room and saw Zhang Guoli, she used her "Charm of the World" spell to quickly bow to him, saying, "Mr. Zhang, hello, I am Lin Zixuan, and I am also your fan."
When Zhang Guoli saw Xu Qing and Lin Zixuan come in, he didn't know why, but as soon as he saw Lin Zixuan, he felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity with the young man, even though he was certain that he had never met him before.
Seeing their polite manners, he was even more satisfied. Suppressing his doubts, he let out a hearty laugh and took the initiative to shake hands with Lin Zixuan. "Lin Zixuan, right? What a handsome young man. Don't call me President Zhang anymore. Just call me Uncle Zhang, like Xu Qing does."
"Thank you, Uncle Zhang."
"Come and sit down, please don't be shy. I'm sorry I came early. The tea is just ready, please have a taste."
After saying that, he picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Xu Qing and Lin Zixuan respectively.
The tea was Pu'er tea. Although Lin Zixuan didn't know much about tea, he couldn't help but praise it after seeing the rich orange-yellow color of the tea soup and the fragrant, sweet taste in his mouth after drinking it, saying, "Good tea."
"This is 10-year-old Pu'er tea. I brought it back from Yunnan not long ago while filming. If you like it, you can take some back with you later."
. . . . . .
After chatting for a while over tea, they got down to business. Zhang Guoli looked at Lin Zixuan and said, "I heard from Xu Qing that..."
"You wrote the script for 'Someday or One Day' all by yourself."
"Yes, this is the copyright registration certificate for the script of 'Someday or One Day'."
"Given your looks, you should be studying acting at the Beijing Film Academy, right?"
"Yes, I actually studied acting; screenwriting is just a hobby of mine."
"Young people these days are really amazing. They can write such excellent scripts as a hobby. I bet your school's literature department will regret missing out on such a good talent in the future."
"Uncle Zhang, you flatter me."
Why did you come up with the idea to write such a script?
"The main idea is to write a different kind of youth idol drama. Since the introduction of idol dramas such as Taiwan's 'Meteor Garden' and South Korea's 'Winter Sonata' and 'Full House', young people nowadays love to watch youth idol dramas."
However, most of the idol dramas produced in mainland China are about rich kids falling in love with poor girls, or rich kids in elite schools and ugly ducklings. These melodramatic love stories are hard for people to relate to.
So I thought I'd write an idol drama that suits us, telling our own love story. Of course, to make the plot more engaging, I added elements of time travel, suspense, and mystery.
Zhang Guoli looked at him as if he were an alien, "You're only a junior at Beijing Film Academy, right?"
"Yes, after we entered our junior year, the school encouraged us to work on film sets."
"No wonder Xu Qing kept praising you on the phone before. I didn't quite believe it at first, but now it seems that you really are a young talent."
Your script is excellent. As you just said, it has elements of youthful romance, campus life, time travel, suspense, and mystery. More importantly, it is logically sound, with a captivating plot that keeps you hooked.
"Alright, I'll take this script. Tell me your terms."
Lin Zixuan was overjoyed. He exchanged a glance with Xu Qing and brought up the two conditions that he had discussed with her before.
"Uncle Zhang, thank you for your high regard. Normally, a newcomer like me shouldn't be able to make demands, but this is, after all, my hard work, so I hope you can grant me two requests."
"It's alright, go ahead and speak."
"The first requirement is that I must play the male lead. After all, this is a script I prepared for myself. To be honest, the male lead in the script is based on my own image."
Zhang Guoli pondered for a moment, "Actually, your image is quite suitable for playing the male lead in this TV series. However, it would be very detrimental for the TV station to buy the series if you, as a newcomer with no reputation, were to play the male lead."
That's right. When TV stations buy dramas nowadays, the first thing they look at is whether there are any big stars. If there are big stars in the cast, TV stations will compete to buy the dramas, and at a high price.
Secondly, it depends on connections. If you don't have big stars in the cast and the production team doesn't have connections, your drama simply won't catch the eye of the drama acquisition departments of top TV stations.
Thirdly, the quality and plot of the series are considered. Before signing a contract, the purchasing department usually arranges for several experts to watch the series and evaluate its quality and plot.
However, the problem is that audiences have diverse aesthetic tastes and preferences, and there is no unified standard. Viewing experts believe that even if a drama has high market ratings, audiences may not necessarily accept it after it is actually released to the market.
Therefore, the evaluations of film and television experts can only guarantee the lower limit of a series, not its upper limit, which is far from enough for top television stations.
In the end, the TV station found that using the participating celebrities to evaluate the show was the most reliable method.
Xu Qing took the initiative to speak, "Uncle Zhang, actually Lin Zixuan isn't a complete newcomer. He's quite famous in the music industry. Have you heard his songs 'Autumn Never Returns,' 'Wait a Minute,' and 'Damn Tenderness'?"
"I've heard of it. I even know people who use them as ringtones."
"Actually, Zixuan wrote and sang all three songs himself. Recently, his music video has generated a lot of discussion on the internet, and several media outlets have reported on it."
"Oh, that's a plus."
"Besides, I think it doesn't matter if he's not very famous. We can hire a female celebrity to play the lead role."
Zhang Guoli: "Okay, let's talk about the second condition first."
"The second point is that I hope to participate in the investment. I asked a senior from the directing major to calculate that, excluding the director's and actors' salaries, the production cost of this drama will not exceed 450 million yuan. I can contribute 60 yuan in cash, plus my script fee and the lead actor's salary, to participate in the investment of the project."
Zhang Guoli laughed. "It seems you have a lot of confidence in the script."
"Yes, with your company leading the way, Uncle Zhang, and a great script, I'm confident this will be a successful TV series."
Xu Qing chimed in, "Uncle Zhang, I also think highly of this script, and I'm willing to personally invest 200 million yuan."
Zhang Guoli was now flustered. "Xu Qing, are you serious?"
"Of course, I've never encountered such a brilliant script before. It's a pity the timing wasn't right; if it were 5 a.m...."
"If it happens that year, I'll definitely play the female lead."
"Alright, since you're all so confident, I won't say any more. I agree to all your conditions."
Lin Zixuan was overjoyed and raised his teacup, "Thank you, Uncle Zhang. I'll toast you with tea instead of wine."
After Zhang Guoli finished his tea, he asked, "Zixuan, do you have an agent?"
"Uncle Zhang, I'm sorry, I'm still a junior at the Beijing Film Academy and I don't have an agent yet."
"Originally, your script fee and acting fee should have been negotiated by your agent. Since you don't have an agent, I'll just say it to your face now. According to the script of 'Someday or One Day,' the TV series has a total of 26 episodes. I'll give you a script fee of 26 yuan, plus an acting fee of 14 yuan. What do you think?"
Lin Zixuan was overjoyed. This price was definitely very reasonable for a newcomer like him. "Thank you, Uncle Zhang, no problem."
Xu Qing smiled and said, "I have no objection either."
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