Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 109: Drinking Horses from Hanhai, Sealing the Wolf Mountain, Xigui River, and Praying to the Counties

In September, "Snow Goddess Dragon" was broadcast on many terrestrial channels and city and county stations. Although the results were not particularly outstanding, they were quite good.

Because the gap between the distribution of another TV station and Yi'an Film and Television was too great, the contract was directly terminated by the crew.

The crew of "Snow Goddess Dragon" would rather pay the penalty for breach of contract and hand over all the distribution business to Yi'an Film and Television.

Because Yi'an Film and Television has proven its distribution capabilities, the crew believes that after Yi'an Film and Television obtains all the distribution rights, they will earn more money than the penalty for breach of contract.

And Yi An did not disappoint the crew. After obtaining the distribution area assigned by another distribution company, he soon made breakthrough progress in two city stations.

However, the most important thing is that Yi'an has established connections with two satellite TV stations.

Yan Li also personally met with one of the TV stations that showed the highest interest.

At present, the negotiations are still in a stalemate.

As a costume drama, the starting price of "Snow Goddess Dragon" is higher than that of modern dramas such as "Conquer".

This is also the normal reality in the industry.

TV stations have their own logic when buying dramas. They will calculate the investment cost of the crew, judge the profit margin of the crew, and then make a bid.

The cost of costumes and props in modern dramas is lower than that in costume dramas. Unless there are advantages in other aspects, the prices are mostly lower than those in costume dramas.

At the same time, the number of episodes will also affect the price.

The more episodes a TV series has, the more money it makes. The total price may be higher, but the price of each episode will be lower.

For example, a 40-episode drama might sell for 400 million yuan in total, but each episode only makes 10 yuan.

The total cost of a 20-episode drama may be only 300 million, but the cost of each episode is 15.

Therefore, many TV dramas at this stage are mainly 20 to 30 episodes, and there are not many that exceed 40 episodes.

The reason is that too many episodes will lower the cost-effectiveness and return rate, and if the total price is too high, TV stations will feel that the risk is high and have low willingness to purchase, which increases the difficulty of distribution.

Of course, this refers to ordinary crews. If they are confident in the project or the TV series is popular, the more episodes there are, the more money they will make.

Specific projects require specific analysis.

Yan Li also compared the two releases of "Conquer" and "Snow Goddess Dragon", and found that there are many tricks in the release of TV series.

It depends not only on your ability, but also on the market and luck.

The unpopular "Conquest" can be turned into treasure, with low cost and high returns.

It is not surprising that a huge investment of tens of millions will end up losing everything, attracting attention from the industry.

The more Yan Li thought about it, the more he felt that the film and television industry was quite risky, and there was a chance of failure in both production and distribution.

The platform is still stable and holds the initiative. Even if it fails once or twice or suffers a minor setback, it will not cause serious damage.

It would be great if the government allowed private individuals to run TV stations!

However, Yan Li quickly put aside this unrealistic idea and continued to focus on the release of "Snow Goddess Dragon".

Although it has the bonus of being a costume drama, "Snow Goddess Dragon" has many shortcomings, such as the lack of satellite broadcasting, the lack of terrestrial channel data, and the large number of episodes, all of which give the TV station reasons to raise the price.

Chongqing Satellite TV, which is currently the most inclined, only offered a price of 12 per episode. "Snow Goddess Dragon" has a total of 45 episodes, and the total price is only 540 million.

Considering that "Conquer" was sold to Hebei Provincial Satellite TV for 15 yuan per episode, Yan Li still felt that the price was too low.

He hopes to negotiate 600 million, which means more than 13 per episode.

The broadcast performance of "Snow Goddess Dragon" is not as good as "Conquer", and there may not be many satellite TV stations competing for it.

Therefore, the satellite TV stations that come to negotiate should strive for profits as much as possible.

Although Chongqing Satellite TV did not agree and was still considering a stalemate, Yan Li felt that the problem was not serious after investigating the system.

If Chongqing Satellite TV is acquired and successfully broadcast on satellite TV, with someone taking the lead, and the TV series has a certain influence after its broadcast, then Yan Li should be able to negotiate with another satellite TV station.

Yan Li did the math for the producers of "Snow Goddess Dragon".

The production cost of the drama "Snow Goddess Dragon" is about 800 million, after all, the cast and costumes are here.

If Yan Li can negotiate with two satellite TV stations in the first round, each for 600 million, that would be 1200 million.

Adding in the revenue from terrestrial channels, DVDs and second-run broadcasts, the total revenue of "Snow Goddess Dragon" should be more than 2000 million.

Yi An negotiated a 15% share of the distribution, which is approximately 300 million.

The producers of "Snow Goddess Dragon" can earn several million after deducting the costs and the distribution share from Yan Li. If the film sells well in the future, the probability of it making tens of millions is not small.

Although this revenue is far less than that of "Conquest", it is still considerable.

I believe the production team of "Snow Goddess Dragon" will be very satisfied, and Yi An will be able to further enhance his reputation in distribution and take on more business.

However, Yan Li is so concerned because what he values most is not the distribution business, but he wants to use this advantage to participate in some high-quality projects.

Some projects lack money and can be invested in it, some projects do not lack money, or are not that short of money, and some want to maintain creative independence and do not accept external investment.

At this time, using money may not work, but if issuance is used as a breakthrough, it may have miraculous effects.

Your crew is not short of money, but you always want to make more money.

Yan Li can help you sell your TV series at a higher price and make more money. Wouldn’t the crew be tempted?

In this way, Yan Litui can get a share of the profits through distribution, and can also use this as an excuse to participate in project investment and make money from production and distribution.

The TV station is awesome, it can bully customers because of its size!

The producer is awesome, it can be sold at a high price!

The middleman is powerful, so why can't he have the best of both worlds?

Yan Li felt that if he really became the most powerful distributor in the circle, he could just stomp his feet and the entire film and television industry would shake.

Perhaps, it can also take the lead in formulating industry rules for TV drama distribution, or even unite all producers or TV stations to collectively put pressure on the other party to strive for better cooperation terms, etc.

"..."

Yan Li stopped his wandering thoughts and slapped his forehead hard.

He became more and more arrogant after making a little money. One moment he wanted to set up a private TV station, the next he was thinking about formulating industry rules. He really thought he was in charge of some bureau.

They are not afraid of being collectively targeted, sent to work on sewing machines or put on the road by trucks...

----

In mid-September, Yan Li left his work at the company, Qin Lan, and Dong Xuan, and went to the grasslands of Meng Province to shoot the war scenes of "The Emperor of Han Wu".

The crew had already started filming as early as the beginning of September. After being urged two or three times, Yan Li finally finished his work and set off to join the crew.

Yan Li also negotiated with the boss and producer of "Fortune Star Pig Bajie" and asked if he could be given a different role.

He used to think that Bull Demon King was just the protagonist of a unit, but now he feels that his role is too much.

Yan Li was busy with the early preparations for "The Seven Fairies" and also had to go and see "Detective Di Renjie". Coupled with other business and work, his time was really tight.

So he planned to play a small supporting role in "Fortune Star Pig Bajie", as long as it was not considered a breach of contract.

The main purpose is to persuade director Meng Ji and Fan Xiaopang to join "The Seven Fairies".

Fan Xiaotian was in a dilemma. Yan Li had become somewhat famous after being reported by Southern Metropolis Daily, and he wanted to take advantage of the hype.

Yes, this guy is also a master of hype. The online voting for the casting of "Ping Zong Xia Ying" mentioned above was planned by Fan Xiaotian.

At that time, because he was so aggressive, Lu Yi was driven crazy and publicly stated that he would not participate in the selection, calling it bad hype, which led to a verbal battle between Fan Xiaotian and him.

But Yan Li and Lu Yi are different.

Lu Yi is famous, but he is just an actor. Although Yan Li is just starting out, he is already the boss of a film and television company with multiple projects.

With Fan Xiaotian's qualifications, he is certainly not afraid of offending Yan Li, but there is no need to do so. They have a good relationship, so why make an enemy for himself?

So, Fan Xiaotian chose to delay time in a cunning way.

Wait until Yan Li joins the crew, then find a way to convince him to play the Bull Demon King. If that doesn't work, change him to other roles.

Yan Li has an intelligence system, so of course he understands Fan Xiaotian’s plan and plans to counter it when the time comes.

Come to think of it, this is the first crew that is so eager for him to participate.

No wonder everyone wants to be famous, because the treatment will be different when you become famous.

Moreover, it was not just the "Fortune Star Pig Bajie" crew that treated him differently. When Yan Li arrived at the "Han Wu Emperor" crew, he found that his treatment was much better than when he was in Hengdian before.

Because he was delayed for a few days in joining the crew, Yan Li went to the producer and director to say hello and apologize.

Both of them were easy to talk to, and Hu Mei smiled a lot more often than before.

The producer also took special care to check on his health and whether he was adapting to the grassland. The accommodation he arranged was also top-notch for the crew.

Not to mention the other actors and staff on the crew.

Although he did not flatter Yan Li to any great extent, he did not just treat him as a supporting role and showed him more respect.

Ren Zhong, who plays well with Yan Li, is one year older than Yan Li. Before, when they played together, they always called Yan Li by his name, but now he has unconsciously changed to Brother Li.

Several senior members of the crew no longer called Yan Li "Xiao Yan", but instead used his name, or the more intimate Yan'er and Junior Brother.

Several staff members who were friends with Yan Li before expressed their admiration and respect for Mr. Yan, either directly or indirectly, and were eager to join him as soon as the filming of "The Emperor of Han Wu" was completed.

Not to mention Yan Li himself, even Lin Jiachuan, who followed him into the group twice, was deeply moved.

"Brother, you have to do well in your life. If you do well, you will be surrounded by good people and smiling faces."

"Similarly, if one day I capsize and lose my glory, these good people will become bad people, and their smiling faces will turn into evil faces."

Yan Li is young after all, so he really enjoys the changes brought about by success.

But thanks to the intelligence system, Yan Li, who understood everyone's true thoughts better, did not become obsessed with it and lose his calm and rationality.

If you want to see smiling faces for a long time, you not only have to climb up, but also make sure you don’t fall down.

It’s a long journey, and we’ve only taken the first step. It’s okay to have some fun for a while, but don’t forget to stay sober.

Therefore, no matter how other people's attitudes towards Yan Li changed, he himself still tried his best to maintain his previous low-key and humble style.

We still shoot movies the same way we did in Hengdian before, and sometimes we even work harder than before.

This also made many people look at Yan Li with a higher regard.

In the film and television industry, there are many people who become famous overnight or make a lot of money.

But many people, because they become famous or make money, are blinded by fame and fortune, their personalities change drastically, they become arrogant and cause trouble, and finally become like everyone else.

Yan Li is so young and in the prime of his life, but he can still maintain this attitude. Regardless of whether it is true or false, it shows that he has a good character.

...

As Yan Li's time back on the set of "The Emperor of Han Wu" grew longer and the heavy filming workload diluted everyone's attention to him.

Yan Li was also relieved.

Different from generals like Li Guang who needed to fight on the battlefield, Huo Qubing was mainly characterized by his military command ability.

Therefore, Yan Li does not have many fighting scenes. He basically leads troops in confrontation, analyzes and commands. At most, he leads elite cavalry to attack, and there are not many battle shots.

Although these scenes were not easy to shoot, they were not too hard or tiring either.

Anyway, Yan Li himself didn't feel any hardship or tiredness at all.

Imagine that you are wearing armor, riding a horse, and behind you is a group of cavalrymen ready to go, with flags fluttering and horses' hooves rumbling. Everyone is shouting "General" and listening to your orders loyally and firmly. At the sound of a command, the soldiers ride their horses, brandish their swords, and follow you to charge towards the enemy camp.

Which man can resist such temptation!

Really, there were some scenes that gave Yan Li goosebumps, from his temples to his heels.

All my childhood fantasies of chopping grass with a stick wrapped in a bed sheet have been materialized.

tired?
He died of exhaustion with a smile on his face!

Not to mention Yan Li, even Lin Jiachuan, the deputy general who followed the charge, complained bitterly every day from the shaking of horseback riding, but he became full of energy as soon as filming started the next day.

Because the filming was so exciting, the youthful vigor and passion of the young general Huo Qubing, who fought on the battlefield, were directly written on Yan Li's face.

Even Hu Mei couldn't help but praise him several times.

Yan Li had already acted well when filming in Hengdian, and now he has found his "soul", and everything he does is great.

This situation also happened to an actor in "The Emperor of Han Wu", Lu Shuming.

He told Yan Li that when he was filming Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he performed well in the first few episodes, but later he couldn't remember which scene it was.

It might not even be that he was filming, but just standing by with a knife waiting, stroking his beard, and suddenly he had an epiphany, and found the pulse of the character of Guan Yu, both in form and spirit.

Yan Li originally just felt that the feeling of leading his troops across the grassland was very refreshing and comfortable.

After hearing what Hu Mei and Lu Shuming said, he realized that his current state of mind might be accidentally similar to that of the character Huo Qubing.

This natural-born champion was also full of passion when he led his troops to kill the Huns on the grassland, and regarded the Huns as food on the plate and meat on the chopping board.

With this momentum, Yan Li put aside all distractions and devoted himself to experiencing and pondering the several battles of Huo Qubing in the filming of the drama.

In the first battle, Huo Qubing, a young and inexperienced lieutenant of the Piaoyao Army, led 800 elite cavalrymen in a surprise attack and attacked the rear of the Xiongnu.

In the end, he beheaded and captured more than 2,000 people, including many high-ranking Xiongnu officials and nobles. He became famous in one battle and was the most meritorious person in the entire army.

In the Battle of Hexi, after being promoted to General of Cavalry, Huo Qubing led an army of more than 10,000 and went on another expedition, fighting against the Huns in the Spring and Autumn Period.

In spring, he crossed the Wuchu River, attacked the Shupu River, crossed the Hunu River, fought in five countries, traveled thousands of miles quickly, severely damaged the main force of the Xiongnu, killed two Xiongnu kings, obtained the golden man for offering sacrifices to the sky, and shocked the grasslands.

In summer, he led his army deep into the enemy's territory and reached the Qilian Mountains. He captured five Xiongnu kings and their queens alive, captured hundreds of Xiongnu princes, officials and nobles, and beheaded more than 30,000 people. Afterwards, he cooperated with the court to force King Hunxie to surrender, and tens of thousands of his troops returned to the Han Dynasty.

The Xiongnu sang a sad song: "The loss of Mount Qilian has caused my livestock to stop breeding; the loss of Mount Yanzhi has caused my brides to lose face."
In the Battle of Mobei, Huo Qubing joined forces with Wei Qing and led an army of 50,000 to defeat the Xiongnu army. They chased the Xiongnu all the way to the Wolf Mountain, offered sacrifices to heaven and performed ceremonies, and beheaded more than 70,000 people.

Drinking Horses from Hanhai, Fenglangju Mountain, Xigui Dahe, and all the counties pray for the connection

According to historical records, after this battle, the Huns fled far away, there was no royal court south of the desert, and the Huns' power declined greatly.

Yan Li didn't know what Lu Shuming felt when he finished filming "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

But when he confirmed that on the day when the filming of "The Emperor of Han Wu" was completed, Yan Li put on his costume, rode a horse, and quietly strolled across the grassland for the entire afternoon.

----

PS: I caught a cold and had a fever yesterday, so I updated less. I will make up for it later.

(End of this chapter)