Generation Z Artists

Chapter 343 Military Training in China
Liu Yifei went to promote the drama, while Gong Li, Jun Ji-hyun, Choi Min-sik, and Ken Watanabe were all busy, so Director Fang had some free time.

He leisurely organized his manuscript in Japan, waiting for the opportune moment to make his grand debut.

On the other side, the Divine Eagle was pushing forward with great force.

After its second week of airing, the average viewership rating in Japan reached 30%, and in South Korea it reached 35%, making it a sure hit.

After the third week of broadcasting, the ratings stabilized, the discussion surged, both countries were plunged into a new frenzy, entertainment news dominated the charts, and it has become a phenomenon.

The most direct evidence is that the ratings of the actors who promote their dramas skyrocket no matter what show they appear on.

When Jun Ji-hyun appeared on a TV show, the caption read "Asia's Queen of Ratings".

When Liu Yifei appeared on a TV show, the caption read, "Asia's last classical fairy."

Actually, neither of them has much of a sense of humor or entertainment value; they just sit there blankly answering questions, but the audience still loves watching them.

Even serious interviews featuring Choi Min-sik have a large number of drama fans watching them.

The host asked, "How was it working with Fang Xinghe?"

Choi Min-sik completely disregarded the need for variety shows to be entertaining and remained extremely serious.

"Very professional. Fang Xinghe is an extremely professional director. He has a clear vision of the desired effect and can achieve effective communication in just a few words. There will never be a situation where he talks a lot but the actors can't understand it..."

Korean: Wow, so cute!
The host then asked, "Is the Golden Wheel Monk you played the biggest villain?"

Choi Min-sik: "No, that's not the case. The Golden Wheel Monk is a villain who is somewhat righteous. He clashes with the protagonist because of the opposing camps, but he is not a bad person. The real final boss is someone else."

Korean: Wow, I can't wait!
His mental attributes are somewhat abnormal...

Of course, when it comes to being crazy, no one can compare to the Japanese.

Because of Fang Xinghe's philosophy of "everyone gets a turn," all the supporting characters have distinctive and memorable roles, leading Japanese drama fans to create official fan cafes for all the characters who have appeared.

Now that the fan club is established, shouldn't the fans follow suit?
You know what, they've even started eating meat.

Wang Jinsong earned the nickname "Uncle Dong" in advance. The "Dong" in "Eastern Heretic" is popular with Japanese fans because of his unique and wicked temperament. He ranks fourth in the number of fans among the supporting characters.

Common posts on the official fan cafe include...

"Whenever Uncle Dong glances at me sideways, I feel so excited, hehehe!"

Next up is Janine Chang – she's so-so in South Korea, but a huge hit in Japan, earning her the nickname "The Last Showa Princess," and currently ranks third in terms of fan count.

Zhang Junning herself didn't understand what Showa-hime was, and it was Fang Ge who explained it to her in the end.

"Generally speaking, it represents a traditional image of gentleness, forbearance, dignity, and elegance, coupled with a relatively high and prestigious social position..."

"what?"

Janine Chang didn't understand and still didn't comprehend her place in the eyes of the Japanese.

Fang Xinghe had to explain it more simply and search for keywords in her official fan cafe.

"Showa women were a very special generation. They undertook certain wartime production tasks, supported a lot of postwar reconstruction work, and widely entered society during the subsequent economic recovery period."

They are no longer just housewives, but perfect partners who are educated, capable of independent living, and possess a resilient spirit.

As times have changed, the Showa Princess has become a special kind of nostalgia. The difference between her and the Heisei women of today is that she is, well, more traditional, more dignified, and possesses greater inner strength.

Fang Xinghe gave her a thumbs up.

“That’s good. Japanese men are very accepting of you, especially middle-aged and older men who like your temperament. Study Japanese well and don’t go back to Taiwan. It’s not suitable for you there. It just so happens that there is a great lack of your type here.”

In Fang Xinghe's memory, Janine Chang was a very "upright" person.

It's not about being nitpicky or anything like that, but rather about having an outwardly intellectual, inwardly strong, and quiet personality.

Since he chose her to play the role of Condor Heroes, Fang Xinghe hoped that she would become famous, thereby surpassing or even suppressing the generation of Taiwanese actresses.

Therefore, knowing that she couldn't grasp the key points, Fang Xinghe patiently reminded her again and again.

"Sign your Japanese agency contract with Kadokawa Tsuhiko's agency, act in more Japanese dramas, gradually build up your fan base, and differentiate yourself from mainland Chinese actresses."

The Taiwanese market should be left alone. In the future, the focus should be on Japan, with mainland China as a secondary market. We should steadily produce good dramas and movies, at least reaching the second tier level.

Fang Xinghe wasn't optimistic about her becoming a top-tier star. Her non-competitive personality had its pros and cons; she lacked the drive of Yang Mi, Bingbing, and Zhang Ziyi, making it difficult for her to reach their level.

Liu Yifei is an exception—how many exceptions like her are there in the world?
Naza is another special case. She maintained her second-tier status based on her looks, but her popularity dropped because of her work, which is quite absurd.

Janine Chang was very grateful to Director Fang and gave him a very boyish salute.

The second most popular supporting actor is Ouyang Feng, and actor Feng Yuanzheng has finally found a suitable stage for himself.

Given the extent of the Western Poison's madness and perversion, Teacher Feng would probably face severe consequences in China.

When he went out to buy groceries again, half of the old ladies pointed at him and shouted, "Oh, An Jiahe, ptooey!"

The other half of the child pointed at him and shouted, "Oh my god, Ouyang Feng, run! Run!"

That's pretty much the image.

In Japan and South Korea, however, the situation is quite different.

Discussions in South Korea mostly praised his acting skills, while in Japan, the praise went beyond praise, reaching levels of admiration and ecstasy.

A highly praised comment on the forum read: "It feels like he's about to eat me up at any moment..."

A popular meme on the official fan cafe: "Let's become one, wahahahaha!"

The media praised, "To portray a madman so vividly, one must be a person with a sensitive heart!"

In short, the Japanese people's mental state is far ahead.

Gong Li is the most popular supporting actress, and she holds the top spot in both Japan and South Korea.

Empress Gong, dressed in a magnificent red and black robe, went on a killing spree.

She plays a madwoman, without laughing too much, acting strangely, or rambling on. She doesn't talk much most of the time, keeping her lines as concise and simple as possible, and conveying her emotions with her sometimes dreamy, sometimes deep, and sometimes slightly tipsy eyes.

As a ruthless and selfish female villain, she has no likable traits, yet Gong Li portrayed her with an admirable charm.

The official fan cafe is full of comments like "I'm being killed by my sister," while the comments outside the fan cafe are simply unbearable to look at.

The only comments that could be made public were those with milder symptoms, such as "My sister stepped on me hard" and "I want to become the blood that flows out of you."

Anyway, judging from the discussions in Japan and South Korea, it's all about who's more perverted. The ones who attract the most fans are all evil characters. The only exception is Janine Chang in the Japanese region, but even she is more popular with middle-aged people than young drama fans.

In the fourth week, episode 78 aired again, and Gongsun Zhi and Jinlun Fawang caught up.

The actor who played the Golden Wheel Monk was South Korean film star Choi Min-sik.

Fang Xinghe used him to convey a sense of oppressive weight and stability, like a mountain.

This version of the Dharma King possesses religious piety, a magnanimous spirit that cherishes talent, and a tragic undertone of "Why was the Dharma King born when Yang Guo was born?"

Choi Min-sik has a very good acting style. He is a rare academic in the Korean film and television industry and is very useful.

After shaving his head, growing a beard, and losing weight, his thin body was covered with a loose layer of skin. His eyes, with their ups and downs, revealed a mixture of Buddhist nature and ferocity, a coexistence of domineering and cruelty. He was far more frightening and bold than the original Dharma King.

Kenji Watanabe plays Gongsun Zhi and appears very early in the story.

The plot of the new Condor Heroes has been significantly altered.

The scene where Xiaolongnu is raped by Zhen Zhibing was completely cut. As a lay disciple of the Taoist sect, Fang Xinghe certainly couldn't portray Quanzhen as a clown.

However, without this misunderstanding, the entire framework of The Return of the Condor Heroes would cease to exist, so the separation node must be recreated.

So the new version's plot is roughly like this—

Delete the entire storyline where Zhen Zhibing is in love with Xiaolongnu.

While retaining Zhao Zhijing's dissatisfaction with Yang Guo, the core logic is based on the psychological trauma caused by Yang Kang's actions.

In the end, Zhao Zhijing, who had been making things difficult for Yang Guo in the early stages, will sacrifice himself heroically while rescuing the people.

The misunderstanding between Xiaolongnu and Yang Guo stemmed from a conspiracy.

Huo Du, a Mongol prince and disciple of the Golden Wheel Monk, was in love with Xiaolongnu and thus coveted her many times.

Meanwhile, the mastermind behind them realized the destructive power of Xiaolongnu and Yang Guo—the Ancient Tomb Sword Technique and the Quanzhen Sword Technique combined, their hearts in perfect harmony, their power was unparalleled.

Therefore, the mastermind devised a plan to kill three birds with one stone, using the Love Flower to refine the Heartless Poison, and plotted against Little Dragon Girl.

If a poisoned person becomes emotional or close to their lover, they will experience severe pain and their life will be cut short. Only by severing romantic love and purifying their mind and desires can they prolong their life.

Firstly, it would separate Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü. Secondly, it would distract Huo Du.

Thirdly, it creates a misunderstanding that Huo Du poisoned the poison, thus intensifying the hatred between the righteous faction and the Jinlun lineage.

As soon as Xiaolongnu got close to Yang Guo, she felt the excruciating pain of the poison activating in her body.

Because Zhao Zhijing had previously made sarcastic remarks, saying, "You two, master and disciple, are immoral and cannot be tolerated by heaven and earth; you will surely be punished by heaven."

She then mistakenly believed that this was the root of her suffering, a punishment from heaven or fate for their "incestuous love".

She firmly believed that as long as she stayed by Yang Guo's side, this "illicit" love would be like poison, first killing her and then tormenting Yang Guo.

She didn't like to explain herself anyway, so with the extreme mindset of "If I love you, I should stay away from you," she resolutely left.

From Yang Guo's perspective, he was unaware of the poisoning; he was simply inexplicably abandoned by his closest relatives, and it seemed to be related to outsiders, which naturally caused him immense pain.

This completely maintains the original framework and elevates the root of the problem.

The core conflict in the original version was "chastity," but now it has completely transformed into "a direct confrontation between love and fate, and the law of propriety."

In Fang Xinghe's view, using "chastity" as the core of the conflict is not a clever approach. If you want to completely destroy a person, the highest priority should be to destroy their faith, followed by their interpersonal relationships, then their social status, and finally their physical body.

Therefore, in "The Message", Takeda did not need to rape Li Ningyu, but only to strip her of her dignity and then destroy her spirit.

In a modern context and on-campus environment, where there is no strong spiritual belief and it is difficult to resort to punishment, the only way to destroy a character's interpersonal relationships and social reputation is through physical humiliation and public pronouncements. However, it is important to pay attention to the difference between the purpose and the means, and to understand where the root of the destruction comes from.

This is the fundamental reason why modern dramas feature so much rape, spy dramas feature so much torture, and historical dramas feature so much annihilation of entire families.

"The Return of the Condor Heroes" is set in a feudal era, so Xiaolongnu's loss of virginity is unnecessary. It would be better to let the two of them directly confront feudal ethics and laws.

I will stand up to everyone's condemnation and curses, and that's what makes it satisfying.

As the story of The Return of the Condor Heroes progresses, the love story remains largely unchanged, while the conspiracy plot runs throughout, ultimately connecting all the characters to the Second Battle of Xiangyang.

Gongsun Zhi appeared early, but as a mysterious figure, hiding behind the Golden Wheel Monk.

He was a pawn that the Mongol commander-in-chief, Ashu, had secretly instigated to defect in the Song Dynasty's martial arts world.

Ashu had been vying with Möngke for military power in the south. However, due to the support of the Golden Wheel Monk for Möngke, and the fact that Möngke's son, Khoshu, was the Golden Wheel Monk's favorite disciple, Ashu was temporarily at a disadvantage.

Therefore, under Aju's instructions, Gongsun Zhi kept hindering Möngke and Jinlun.

The first Battle of Xiangyang was a complete failure, and Möngke died. The shadow of Asu always loomed over the battle.

This also fully explains why Yang Guo, one of the new Five Greats, was able to completely thwart the Mongol army's advance—it was simply a matter of having the right timing, location, and popular support.

When the second Battle of Xiangyang came, Aju led his troops and advanced step by step, leaving Guo Jing and Huang Rong with no chance to turn the tide.

Therefore, it is entirely possible to understand it this way—there are a total of 4 characters in The Return of the Condor Heroes who can be called BOSSes.

The first one is Li Mochou in her early days.

The second is the Golden Wheel Monk, who appears intermittently from the moment Huo Du makes his appearance.

The third is Gongsun Zhi, who appears in the middle period—at first glance, he is just a vulgar and shameless pervert, but in reality, he brings great terror when his true colors are revealed.

The fourth one is the final boss, Ashu.

Despite limited screen time, they exuded immense pressure and ultimately secured victory.

Fang Xinghe entrusted this role to Tony Leung Ka-fai, the versatile actor.

Don't ask him how his acting was; just guess.

……

At this point, Yang Guo's love story and growth storyline are completely complete, and the new Condor Heroes is unrecognizable from the original.

Japanese and Korean audiences, on the other hand, didn't seem to care much. They were just making a lot of noise and exclaiming in surprise every time a new character appeared, as if they had never seen anything like it before.

The plot is fairly standard; it's neither brilliant nor terrible. Ultimately, it depends on how it's filmed and presented.

How could Choi Min-sik's plump, pregnant appearance be the same as his gaunt, half-Buddha, half-demon appearance?
Anyway, these two island nations were completely captivated by Fang Ge's aesthetics and ingenious ideas. Since they didn't know the plot, they watched the two episodes every week with great enthusiasm, going through the ups and downs of the emotions.

As for domestic audiences... domestic audiences won't have a chance to see it either!

They started making trouble in early January, and by the end of January, the domestic TV stations couldn't sit still any longer.

This year's Spring Festival is relatively late, with Lunar New Year's Eve on February 8th and Lunar New Year's Day on February 9th. Many viewers called the TV station asking, "Will we be able to watch The Return of the Condor Heroes around the Lunar New Year?"

I have a magical chicken, do you want to see it?

The major TV stations don't want to slack off, and it's no use if the smaller stations do, so this matter has been stuck until now, and it's been more than half a year since we got the screening license.

A turning point came for various businesses.

Whether it was GEO breaking into Japan or Shiseido launching a surprise attack on South Korea, neither of their advertising efforts actually covered costs.

It's not that the advertising is ineffective; in fact, it's quite effective. However, with such high costs, it's certain that the investment won't be recouped in a short period of time.

However, the Chinese market is different. The Chinese market is large enough and not yet solidified. With the sweeping quality of The Condor Heroes, as long as we can secure the bundled advertising slots broadcast in China, there will definitely be huge profits to be made.

So these brands were even more proactive than Galaxy Pictures, constantly asking domestic TV stations: Are you going to be on TV? Are you going to be on TV?

CCTV wasn't interested for the time being, but their own Jilin TV station managed to get them to take the bait.

"I want to go, but what if I don't have the money?"

Sulwhasoo: "Just go ahead and do it, our Korean company will cover the buyout fee!"

Shiseido: "You take less of the advertising revenue share, let Mr. Fang take the lion's share, and we Japanese companies will support you with our advertising fees!"

Jilin TV was immediately energized, and the station director personally discussed with Brother Fang: "1000 million in cash + 70% advertising revenue sharing, we're going all out to break the rules and be the bad guys, Brother Fang, will you lead us to victory?"

Fang Xinghe was startled.

"Wow, you guys are really determined, daring to ask for a high price..."

The station director chuckled like a bandit: "In a small place like ours, what can we do if we're not poor and arrogant? If you don't give up your wife, you can't catch a lecherous wolf!"

As a result, Yunyun showed Gigi what true arrogance and tyranny really meant.

"We don't have a single cent in cash. We don't want a single cent for the bundled advertising!"

Damn it? !
Fang Xinghe was startled again.

"No, will the higher-ups allow you to do this?"

The station director almost pulled out his gun, acting like a warlord: "As long as the province has no objections, that's fine. Let General Manager Guang do whatever he wants; he can't fire me!"

Ah yes, yes, yes, the power to appoint personnel does indeed lie with the local authorities, but...

"For dramas broadcast on satellite TV, you need to obtain approval from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, right?"

Director Yunyun shrank back, her voice softening: "General Manager Guang wouldn't dare to suppress your drama, would he?"

"What are you saying?" Fang Xinghe chuckled. "Who do you think I am? Why should they have to give me face?"

In the education sector, Brother Fang can definitely handle it with ease.

The same applies to civil affairs.

But it's really hard to say about the broadcasting and propaganda departments.

Some things that could affect unity are not suitable to be said. Anyway, many people have memories of what happened in those few places back then.

In short, if "The Return of the Condor Heroes" wants to be broadcast on local TV stations in China, the existing broadcast license is sufficient. If it wants to be broadcast on satellite TV, it must undergo another content review and be approved by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

"You might not be able to get permission to go satellite," Fang Xinghe judged. "The argument that you don't have enough influence is enough to reject even the lowest-ranked stations."

Yunyun, not believing in such superstitions, probed the higher-ups, and the General Manager Guang indeed said the same thing: "Why are you all causing trouble? Nonsense! This is a key national cultural export project. Let Hunan TV talk to them."

Yunyun and Jiji were furious. What's wrong? Does the bottom-ranked channel not deserve to broadcast major dramas?

That's really the case. Many leaders are worried that "the broadcasting platform will have difficulty unleashing the potential of The Condor Heroes," which shows how much they care about Fang Ge.

However, this kind of stagnation couldn't go on forever. At the end of January, Fang Xinghe lazily returned to China after the third "enthusiastic invitation" from the Guangdong General Manager.

This environment is terrible, hard to describe.

But this is our own home, what else can we do? Of course, we'll have to train them one by one.

Once everyone settles down and behaves themselves, the environment will improve, right?

Your brother Fang, I was reborn to do this kind of thing~~~
(End of this chapter)