Generation Z Artists

Chapter 354 of "The Return of the Condor Heroes": A New Surprise
The entire month of March 2005 was undoubtedly the "Month of the Condor Heroes".

With a peak viewership rating of 55.26% and an average viewership rating of 42.53%, it gave a powerful boost to the Chinese TV drama industry in the 21st century.

"Facts have proven that as long as our artists remain steadfast in their beliefs and dedicate themselves to making good dramas, the people will not only be willing to support them, but will also empathize with them!"

At every meeting held by the General Managers of Guangdong, the leaders kept mentioning "The Condor Heroes." If you didn't know better, you'd think they were holding a celebration and summary meeting for the movie "The Condor Heroes."

Don't worry, there will definitely be a summary meeting. They're asking us every day, "Director Fang, when do you have time?"

"I never have time."

Why do they always remember to call me to those stupid meetings?

If you interfere with my ability to make money, you interfere with my ability to donate money; if you interfere with my ability to donate money, you interfere with the education of impoverished children and the overall education plan. You are traitors to the nation!
Once that big label was attached, no one from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television or the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television dared to press him.

Even if the propaganda department wants to get things done, they have to carefully discuss it with Brother Fang.
Director Fang's absence did not dampen the enthusiasm of industry professionals at all. It is now widely believed that the industry is about to enter a new golden age.

"Fang Xinghe has already drawn the audience back to their television sets. All we need to do is control the content to maintain this positive momentum!"

The four major TV stations are incredibly optimistic.

Then CCTV-1 carefully selected an anti-Japanese war drama to take over, called "Jinling Zichao".

Although the lead actor is not very famous, the production company is one of their own. How could they let outsiders benefit from such a good opportunity to ride on someone else's coattails?

As a result, the ratings for the premiere on the 22nd plummeted from 20% the previous day to 7%, and then continued to drop to 2.22% during the broadcast. All the loyal viewers switched channels.

CCTV-1 suffered a major setback, and Hunan TV and Zhejiang TV weren't much better off. All the new dramas that took over their time slots were poorly received, and some were even canceled multiple times.

Which channel has the best ratings?
None of the channels are good.

Viewers are still so engrossed in the story of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" that they simply don't buy into the new dramas, resulting in all the dramas airing during prime time failing to achieve the expected results.

With the conclusion of The Return of the Condor Heroes, the popularity of TV dramas across the country plummeted, and the overall viewership collapsed.

The young woman, the newlywed, and the bearded man with a girlish heart were all crying so hard they couldn't breathe.

"Waaaaah... How... how come they're all dead?"

"Mu Nianci, Granny Sun, Ke Zhen'e, Zhao Zhijing, Guo Jing, Huang Rong, the two Wu brothers, Yelü Qi, Guo Fu, Ouyang Feng, Huang Yaoshi, Gongsun Lü'e, Li Mochou... those who deserved to die and those who didn't, all died, waah... waah!"

"In the final scene, though the world is vast, the country is no longer a country, the family is no longer a family, and only Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu are left living alone in this world. They have nothing left but each other. Just thinking about it makes my heart ache..."

"You heartless Fang Xinghe, why didn't you kill me too?"

Strong-willed men and women are vehemently criticizing Fang Xinghe and making complaint calls to the TV station.

"Can the ending be changed at all?!"

"I don't care! Stop spouting nonsense!"

"That son of a bitch Fang Xinghe, is this how it was written in the original novel? Who gave him permission to make these arbitrary changes?"

"Alright, alright, I won't make things difficult for you. Just give me Fang Xinghe's address!"

"Holy shit! ...Y@#@%!"

The elderly folks, with their strongest mental fortitude, were busy exchanging their thoughts at the village entrance and alleyways.

"Oh dear, He Qing sacrificed herself so tragically, it still makes me feel uneasy whenever I think about it!"

"Yes, yes, that's awesome! He Qing's look is really awesome!"

"You should buy a hearing aid as soon as possible!"

"Chen Baoguo's portrayal of Guo Jing is truly authentic!"

"Right? He has to play the general."

"Hey, guess who I saw yesterday? An Jiahe, the actor who plays Ouyang Feng! I rushed up to him and spat at him!"

"Why are you spitting on him? He's nowhere near as bad as Liang Chaowei. In the end, he wiped out Da Wu, Xiao Wu, Yelü Qi, and the rest of the family. It made me so angry my liver hurt."

Look, everyone's busy, who's in the mood to watch any new dramas?
Even if I watch it, I can't get into it.

The swordsmen in "The Return of the Condor Heroes" are too ruthless and their strength is too great.

With so many ways to die, there's bound to be one that resonates with the audience, and once it does, it's hard to shake off the feeling.

So, new dramas come and go like water, just flowing by...

Amidst the lamentations from various channels, only Zhege remained unfazed—the Korean version of "The Condor Heroes" was still airing, and they managed to find new behind-the-scenes footage and related news every day.

Now that there's no more data on the main episodes, Zhe Ge's lousy show, which was just riding on the coattails of others, has actually managed to maintain its position as number one on the national network!

CCTV-1, CCTV-8, Hunan TV, Zhejiang TV, Oriental TV... Who wouldn't find it outrageous after watching it?
The show is called "The Condor Heroes in Progress," and it airs every day at 9 o'clock. The content lasts for about ten or twenty minutes, plus a bunch of filler commercials and host commentary, which can drag on for more than half an hour.

The TV crew couldn't hold back their anger any longer: "The Condor Heroes has already ended, what are you still doing?"

Zhe Zong lit a cigarette and said arrogantly, "Whether it's over or not is not up to you. My son is doing well and is showing off abroad. The people love to watch. What's it to you?"

That's really something else, it's infuriating!

"Fine, fine, fine!" The various big shots were so angry their fingers trembled. "You wait! It's just the copyright of Japanese and Korean behind-the-scenes footage, isn't it?"

Adhering to the principle of "if you can't beat them, join them," several TV stations approached Japanese and Korean channels to discuss: "Can we buy your behind-the-scenes footage?"

Nippon TV and KBS were dumbfounded: "Buy it? We don't have the complete rights to the behind-the-scenes footage either... It's all released by the production company every week, and it's not just broadcast on our channel."

It was only then that people in China realized that all of this had been in the hands of Fang Xinghe's team's Japanese and Korean agents all along.
Does that mean... Fang Xinghe has been taking sides all along?

The brothers looked at each other, completely dumbfounded.

What's the use of knowing? Does anyone dare to hold Fang Xinghe accountable?

There's nothing we can do but endure it.

KBS, overcome with curiosity, turned on the TV channel: "Let me see what they're broadcasting... Holy crap! How come they're even stealing our variety show clips and news programs?!"

They've always been the ones stealing from others, but this time Brother Zhe took everything from them, and they exploded on the spot.

They immediately lodged a protest through diplomatic channels, and the diplomatic department instructed the Guangdong General Chamber of Commerce to conduct an internal investigation. The General Chamber of Commerce bowed its head and tapped the table: "Hey, that's enough. I can't afford to take responsibility if this gets out of hand..."

"Damn it, have they gone too far?" Boss Zhe slammed his fist on the table. "As if anyone wouldn't tattle!"

The deputy director of the provincial TV station immediately called Fang Xinghe: "The Koreans won't let me broadcast the behind-the-scenes footage!"

"Let's not broadcast it then." Fang Xinghe didn't take it seriously.

"Your fellow villagers miss you!"

Xie Rong, the deputy director who wanted to become Fang Xinghe's father-in-law, had now been promoted to the first deputy director. He still had the same bandit-like habits and immediately started crying his eyes out.

“Our family is poor, and we are short-sighted. We can’t afford to spend money, but what’s wrong with the villagers wanting to see you more? You get a 7 or 8 percent rating every day. How enthusiastic are they? The station can’t lose this program. We have the expectations of the people of the whole province on our shoulders!”

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Fang Xinghe got a headache from reading so much that he raised his hands in surrender.

"I'll discuss it with the South Korean side. Wait for my news."

When KBS received the notification, they felt extremely wronged—we try every day to generate buzz, is it easy for us? And you steal it from us, and it's like we're the ones who are guilty!
But they immediately cancelled the protest.

Fine, Fang Xinghe is the big boss, and those whiny colleagues are the bosses. We can't afford to mess with them!

So, the matter of Zhe Zong secretly broadcasting other people's behind-the-scenes footage was never followed up.

When the big domestic tech companies realized that their underhanded tactics weren't working—they were even more unorthodox than them—they decided to give up and think of a legitimate solution.

Then came a flurry of meetings within each province.

Hold initiative meetings, information dissemination meetings, summary meetings, and preliminary assessment meetings...

The purpose of the meeting was singular: to produce a good TV series that would bring both money and fame. Were we capable of producing similar high-quality dramas?

Currently, domestic TV drama production generally adopts a joint production model of "TV station + enterprise". There are relatively few purely private enterprises that independently produce dramas, and independent production also needs to be subject to provincial leadership.

That is, a model that combines institutional resources with market-oriented operations.

Shanghai Film Group, Shandong Film Group, and Da Guang TV all have their own TV drama production centers, while companies such as Hairun and Jin Yingma often seek cooperation with official organizations.

The immense popularity of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" has shocked not only the cultural propaganda sector, but also all aspects of society.

When the provinces saw how much Gigi enjoyed the food, they immediately released the pressure on them.

Meetings were held by propaganda officials, cultural officials, the drama production center, and the television drama association...

Producers, directors, and screenwriters suddenly became highly sought-after, receiving enthusiastic attention from leaders.

"Yes! Of course you can film it!"

All over the country, there are charlatans who pat themselves on the chest and make guarantees to superiors, investors, coal mine owners, and mine owners.

"Don't worry, Fang Xinghe has already provided us with a successful template. As long as we don't mess things up and follow the 'Condor Heroes' model, it's bound to be a hit!"

A clever con artist also knows how to control expectations.

"Reaching 40% viewership is a pipe dream, and maintaining 20% ​​is just bragging, but 5% is really not difficult. You're not a professional, so you don't understand how much inspiration Fang Xinghe has given us. Here, give me 8000 million, and I guarantee 8%!"

Those who are interested will naturally ask, "So, what exactly is the model?"

"Big investment, big directors, big stars, big commitment, big returns!"

No joke, this was a special report by Mr. Wang, the general manager of Huayi, at a conference. It was later adapted by Business Weekly and caused quite a stir.

For most laypeople, explaining in detail is meaningless; the most direct and effective approach is to simply tell them who you plan to invite.

Of course, industry insiders, business newspapers, financial research institutes and other institutions have indeed carefully analyzed the reasons for Fang Xinghe's success, and they have done a pretty thorough analysis.

What does it mean to be sensational?
Financial research reports all feature you prominently; that's what you call a sensation.

With so many intelligent people flocking to study it, they have indeed figured out all the key success factors of "The Return of the Condor Heroes," listing them out one by one, making it look quite plausible. Unreplicable factors:
Fang Xinghe's directorial debut and starring role, Liu Yifei's second collaboration with Fang Xinghe, and a star-studded cast including Gong Li, Choi Min-sik, Ken Watanabe, Tony Leung Ka-fai, and Chen Daoming, a mega-production with a budget of over 5 million...

Reproducible factors:
Cinematic visuals, color palette, and composition; a romance storyline that leans towards female characters to attract male viewers; an innovative interpretation of kung fu; a perfect blend of quality and hype…

Blah blah blah, making perfect sense, explaining everything from what can and cannot be learned, as if anyone with hands could learn it.

How many investors have been so excited that they plunged headlong into the TV drama industry?

援引官方数据：2005年3月份，全国电视剧备案公示数量突破450部，同比去年3月份暴涨275%，环比今年2月份增加300部……

March might not even be the peak; the peak may be in April.

Crazy, all crazy.

The copyrights of martial arts novels by Jin Yong, Gu Long, Liang Yusheng, and others have skyrocketed. Assistant screenwriters such as Liu Yi, Wang Xuejing, Tan Lan, and Lang Xuefeng are inundated with work. Zhang Jizhong, Yu Min, and Cao Baoping each have 10 projects in the queue. Choi Min-sik, Ken Watanabe, Tony Leung Ka-fai, and Chen Daoming have all been promoted to higher status...

Chen Daoming only made a cameo appearance as Meng Ge, and didn't have much screen time, yet his salary still increased to 200,000 to 300,000 yuan per episode.

The ratings are definitely inflated, it's not like Chairman Chen carried the ratings. However, because his cameo appearances in "Young Love" and "The Condor Heroes" were both huge hits, many bosses now have a superstitious belief in him and insist on paying extra to hire him.

As for the other important supporting characters, in short: everyone's on the table.

Wang Chali tossed Fang Xinghe a form to tally how many shows the actors had appeared on for promotional purposes, so that they could decide how to give out red envelopes at the celebration banquet.

As a result, Fang Xinghe felt embarrassed.

"Huh? Are they working that hard?"

Wang Chali said against his will, "It's not that hard work. It's a mutually beneficial thing; they've also increased their brand awareness..."

Dog Fang felt guilty after hearing this.

Throughout March, Yui Aragaki alone appeared on 143 programs (radio, variety shows, talk shows, outdoor events, joint promotions, etc.).

On the 9th, I flew to Beijing in the morning, Changsha in the afternoon, and Seoul in the evening. After appearing on a Korean variety show on the 10th, I immediately returned to Japan to attend the Condor Heroes offline fan meeting...

Oh, by the way, Liu Yifei participated in the entire event those few days and was exhausted.

The young actors in the show are all at a similar pace, and since the show hasn't finished airing in Japan and South Korea, they have to keep going.

Of course, the gains were also substantial.

Currently, in the overall popularity ranking of all female celebrities in China, Japan, and South Korea, Liu Yifei is far ahead of the top, surpassing all local big names.

Son Ye-jin, Jun Ji-hyun, and Yui Aragaki, three foreign beauties, ranked second, third, and fourth in the domestic rankings.

Because they can all speak Chinese, some fluently, some not so fluently, and some just endearingly awkward, they are ranked ahead of Gong Li – truly, foreign monks chant better sutras.

But it's not a big problem. When the Japanese version airs and Li Mochou ends her own life, your Sister Li will be deified there too.

In South Korea, Jun Ji-hyun is currently ahead of Son Ye-jin, but that situation is about to reverse.

The tragic beauty of her death is definitely a huge plus.

Janine Chang and Zhang Baizhi are slightly less popular, but they still rank ahead of Fan Bingbing, Wei Gege, and others. However, their work attitudes are different from those of other celebrities.

Janine Chang has basically never returned to Taiwan, staying mainly in mainland China. Whenever needed, she immediately travels to Japan and South Korea, appearing on the most numerous and fragmented programs.

Cheung Pak-chi is quite picky; she only appears on important programs and avoids being lazy whenever possible, staying in Hong Kong Island.

Actually, she had quite a few thoughts about Fang Xinghe. In her past life, she got back together with Xiao Xie because of filming "The Promise". In this life, she spent a lot of crucial time with Fang Xinghe, so it was impossible for her not to think about someone better.

But she lacks that same drive as "them".

All the young actors in The Return of the Condor Heroes wanted to get along well with Fang Xinghe, and each of them made their own efforts.

Jun Ji-hyun realized she couldn't win him over, so she immediately switched to a buddy-buddy approach, diligently learning Chinese and adopting a bossy, big-sister demeanor, joking around freely.

Son Ye-jin wasn't giving up and seized every opportunity to connect, putting her Chinese skills to good use: "Today, when we were talking about filming on the show, I told them that Fang Shishuai's abs are super hard, and everyone was so envious! Hehe!"

Yui Aragaki wholeheartedly adores her, constantly expressing it. Although reserved, she perfectly embodies the subservient respect that Japanese women often show.

Zhang Junning can be summed up in one word: hard-working.

Fang Xinghe praised her hard work attitude, and Wang Chali, Yu Min, Sister Ma (the female swordsmanship coach) and others all praised her to him. Occasionally, when they bumped into Fang Xinghe, she would smile brightly and say only one sentence: "It's not hard work, thank you for giving me the opportunity!"

They put in so much effort, so whatever result they get is deserved.

Xiao Zhang is the only one who wants things but also acts all high and mighty. When she goes out to work, she often acts like a spoiled princess, and she immediately lies when Zhang Jizhong urges her.

Using lying as a survival guide is a typical sign of low cognitive ability.

Fang Xinghe promptly removed her number from his friend list—he couldn't block it, but he could simply ignore it and not answer her calls.

It's a pity about her talent, but I don't sympathize with her plight.

Regardless of whether the scandal will happen again, she is destined to never reach her own limit; this applies to both actors and celebrities.

But what does this have to do with me?

Thinking this, Fang Xinghe filled in the number below her name—66, the lowest amount for a red envelope.

The second tier of red envelopes, totaling 88 yuan, mostly went to veteran actors like Feng Yuanzheng, Wang Jinsong, and Chen Baoguo. Although they don't put in much effort in promotion and their efforts don't yield much result, they are the ones who carry the weight in in-depth interviews and industry meetings. This is a way of encouraging them.

The third tier of red envelopes was 158 million yuan, which was the one that Xiaoming, Xiaoliang, and the female supporting characters all received—pure money earned through hard work.

The fourth tier of red envelopes jumps directly to 288 million yuan, which is for the core creators.

Zhao Xiaoding took the money and wanted to buy a luxury car, but Fang Xinghe stopped him: "Find a good location and buy two houses. If it's not enough, I'll lend you some."

Nenxian refused and secretly transferred 50 yuan to Wang Chali: "Please donate this to the children in the mountainous areas for me~~~"

Wang Chali certainly wouldn't hide it from Fang Xinghe. Brother Fang sighed, "Let's build her a primary school in the mountains."

Compared to her previous life, Nenxian has truly prospered.

The phenomenal "The Return of the Condor Heroes" with everyone on the table, and the poor version of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" where only she shines, are completely different concepts.

Currently, the salary for top-tier female stars in China is 8 to 12 yuan per episode, while her new drama is asking for 40 yuan. Those producers must be crazy.

That's what the coal mine owners said: "Investing 5000 million? That's too risky... What? You can hire Liu Yifei? I'll give you another 3000 million!"

You might call them stupid, but they know it's impossible to invite Fang Xinghe.

You could say they're clever; they were easily fooled into believing they could persuade Liu Yifei to come.

But Faye Wong isn't planning on taking on any acting roles lately; she's preparing to debut as a singer.
The other female supporting characters' net worth wasn't that outrageous, just a little outrageous.

Before filming The Return of the Condor Heroes, Zhang Baizhi's salary was 1.5 yuan per episode, totaling more than 30 yuan.

Now, her market value has risen to around 8, making her a near-top-tier actress. If production companies are eager to sign her, there could be a significant premium.

Zhang Junning's salary increased from 5000 to 6, a 12-fold increase.

Jun Ji-hyun's 25 is a far cry from Lee Young-ae and Jang Nara's 20. She was originally a movie star and was known as the Queen of Asia.

It would be truly outrageous for Son Ye-jin's price to rise to 20, but her attributes are indeed unique, making it difficult to find a suitable alternative.

In the past two years, the market value of South Korean actors in China has been significantly inflated.

Fang Xinghe could only laugh at this.

It's great. After spending a lot of money to use them a few times, you find that they're not that effective, and naturally the mystery is dispelled.

Otherwise, who would believe me if I just tried to reason with them?
Hong Kong stars, Taiwanese stars, and Japanese stars all follow the same logic.

You can use it if you want, but you'll find that it still can't beat the newbies I randomly picked. It's high cost and low return, so you'll eventually have to come back to rationality.

The market price at that time was truly healthy and fair.

Besides the actors' salaries, the bubble surrounding the Shang Dynasty was also extremely serious.

If I can't afford Fang Xinghe, can't I afford you guys?
However, merchants are not as foolish as coal bosses. The high-premium contracts are all short-term contracts, and they will definitely re-evaluate the actual value when renewing them in the future.

Fang Xinghe's endorsements are always subject to a trade-off and he may not renew them. No one can rely on The Condor Heroes for a lifetime.

Aside from Gigi, it seems like they really want to eat the Divine Condor for the rest of their lives...

It had only been two days since the show finished airing, and they were already rushing over like their pants were on fire, asking about second-run broadcast rights, third-run broadcast rights, and permanent broadcast rights...

Major TV stations with the capacity to co-produce are all thinking about shooting new dramas, while those impatient smaller stations are blindly rushing to Galaxy Pictures to grab the second-run broadcast rights.

Smart people now understand that it's not that the industry has improved, nor that the market has recovered, but rather that "The Return of the Condor Heroes" is just too amazing.

Those with great ambitions want to personally try out the Condor Heroes model and recreate the mythology.

Those with little ambition will do whatever it takes to broadcast a round or earn a little money.

But Fang Xinghe has his own pace. He told all his clients, "I plan to air the next round of broadcasts during the summer vacation, which will coincide with the time when Japan and South Korea finish their first round of broadcasts."

With more than three months until summer vacation, they were anxious, but they were helpless.

After enduring a week of chaos, that initial surge of energy finally subsided, and the fervor faded.

"The Return of the Condor Heroes" is still the biggest topic of conversation, and the children are still practicing the Ecstasy Palm and Quanzhen Swordplay. But life goes on, and new focal points will emerge in life.

On April 1st, April Fool's Day, two new focal points emerged.

At 9 a.m., Fang Xinghe's new book was launched, and a book signing event was held in the capital. More than 20,000 people gathered outside Xidan Shopping Mall.

At 5 p.m., Kai Ge's blockbuster film "The Promise" held its premiere ceremony, with most of the entertainment industry in attendance.

At this moment, no one could have imagined just how big a surprise Brother Fang was going to give...

　I didn't sleep all night. I've endured the pain and the agony is over.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)