Chapter 181 Popular TV series on iQiyi, Youku and Tencent

In late September, Jiang Heng returned to China from Hollywood.

As soon as he arrived at the company, Li Xiaoping came to report to him about the TV series.

"The Return of the Condor Heroes" was first broadcast on Beijing Satellite TV, Shandong Satellite TV, Chongqing Satellite TV and Zhejiang Satellite TV during the summer. After the show was broadcast, the ratings soared and became the ratings champion during the same period.

The reputation of the film is still good, mainly because due to Jiang Heng's intervention, the Yang Guo in this version is not as greasy as the version played by Zhang Jizhong.

Originally in history, the most criticized thing about Huang Xiaoming's version of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" was that he played Yang Guo with a greasy face and powdered hair. For this, Zhang Da Huzi was partly responsible.

Speaking of Huang Xiaoming's appearance back then, even though it was not as good as Louis Koo at his peak, he was still considered the peak of mainland young actors at that time.

If he takes good care of his appearance, he can definitely play Yang Guo.

Five years later, the 5-year-old Huang Xiaoming looked very good as "Han Que" in the movie "The Orphan of Zhao".

However, due to his personal aesthetic, Zhang Da Huzi insisted on having his fair face tanned dark.

In addition to the bloated beggar outfit, the film insisted on using "Doraemon" to play the young Yang Guo, and had Yang Guo make all kinds of faces and speak in a slick manner to Xiaolongnu during the ancient tomb period, which instantly ruined his popularity among the audience. As a result, Yang Guo's character collapsed as soon as he appeared on the screen and received a lot of bad reviews.

It was not until 16 years later when the "West Madman" version of the middle-aged Yang Guo appeared that the character's positioning was no longer deviated and the viewing experience improved a lot.

This time, the positioning of Yang Guo did not deviate. Not only did it gain good reputation after it was broadcast, but Mr. Jin Yong also told the media that he put the 04 version of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" first in his heart.

Prior to this, the honor went to the 84 version of The Return of the Condor Heroes starring Liu Dehua and Chen Yulian. He was most satisfied with Liu Dehua's version of Yang Guo and had praised it publicly many times.

However, for mainland audiences, many people still prefer the 95 version.

But in fact, the 95 version of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" was not successful in Hong Kong and its influence was far less than that of the 84 version.

The ratings in Hong Kong were not as good as the 10 version which was introduced to Hong Kong 06 years later, and was completely ignored by Mr. Jin Yong.

One of the important reasons why the drama is so popular among a generation of mainland audiences is the "preconceived ideas" of this generation.

自96年开始，内地各大上星卫视台全面放开了对港台剧的限制，于是95版《神雕》、96版《笑傲》、97版《天龙》、98版《鹿鼎》纷纷被引入内地。几乎每一部都是被七八家甚至十来家卫视一哄而上地哄抢。

For example, the 95 version of The Return of the Condor Heroes was broadcasted in prime time on eight satellite TV stations, and the 8 version of The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils was broadcasted in prime time on 97 satellite TV stations. Moreover, it would be replayed the next day during the day, which was far better than today's popular TV series that get two stars for one show.

Mr. Jin Yong was dissatisfied with the crude setting and arbitrary deletions from the original plot.

However, due to the backward economy of the mainland at that time, entertainment "ingredients" were relatively scarce. From film critics to countless ordinary audiences, there was a blind faith and admiration for Hong Kong and Taiwan stars and Hong Kong and Taiwan film and television dramas.

The most typical example is the co-produced "Return of the Pearl" series. The ratings were extremely popular at the time, and watching it again 20 years later, both the plot and the lines are still quite explosive.

This led to countless netizens posting comments, saying that when they grew up they realized that Madam Rong was a good person!
In the "The Return of the Condor Heroes" produced by iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Video, not only did Yang Guo perform well, but the Little Dragon Girl played by Liu Yifei was also widely praised.

Coupled with the sharp and elegant action design and the grand and magnificent exterior scenes, it is far superior to Zhang Jizhong's version.

Therefore, after the first round of broadcasting ended, many satellite channels competed for the right to broadcast the second round.

Of course, Li Xiaoping and Du Huan can decide this. Jiang Heng has never taken "The Return of the Condor Heroes" very seriously.

He invested more in "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" and "The Night Patrol of Dafeng".

Jiang Heng was responsible for the special effects production of the two TV series. Some shots were completed by his "Good Times" special effects company, and some shots were completed by Jiang Heng using his "super microcomputer" in the name of overseas special effects companies. Of course, considering the "nominal" investment cost of the TV series, Jiang Heng did not make the special effects scenes too exaggerated, but it still far exceeded "Storm and Cloud: Heroes Domination".

After the post-production of "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" was completed, iQiyi, Youku, Tencent Video and Tangren Pictures watched the show internally together, and many people were stunned by the fighting scenes in the show.

Especially the Drunken Swordsman played by Xie Junhao, who, with the backdrop of gorgeous special effects and passionate music, was a supporting character with only a few episodes, and his demeanor once overshadowed the male lead.

Tangren’s CEO Cai Yinong couldn’t believe that the fairy-tale drama he “produced” was so good. He felt that fairy-tale dramas were a very good subject and he could shoot more of them in the future.

Because the two companies cooperated in the filming and Jiang Heng was in charge of the special effects, Jiang Heng must nod his head in the choice of the broadcast platform for this drama.

When he was in Hollywood before, Cai Yinong called him several times and asked him what he thought.

Jiang Heng just said there was no rush and everything would be settled after he came back.

Then, Cai Yinong would call Li Xiaoping from time to time to ask when Jiang Heng would come back.

"Director Jiang has managed to make Cai Yinong obedient this time. She calls me every day, asking when you will be back!"

Jiang Heng smiled and said, "Now, all the satellite TV stations are begging to buy our dramas. Why are we in such a hurry?"

Everyone in the industry knows that Jiang Heng is personally responsible for the special effects of "The Legend of Sword and Fairy". He has very high expectations for this TV series. Before the post-production was completed, the directors of the program purchasing departments of various satellite TV channels took the initiative to contact iQiyi, Youku, Tencent Video and Tangren.

However, these purchasing department directors are considered powerful figures in the industry.

In order to sell their dramas, some small film and television production companies try every means to "publicize" them.

But when it comes to TV series produced by big companies and big directors, it is often these purchasing department directors who take the initiative to compete.

TV series like "Dafeng Night Watchmen" in which Jiang Heng participated more often are not only watched by various satellite TV stations, but even CCTV-8 has taken the initiative to approach them. Once the TV series is completed and the effect is excellent, it will basically be broadcast during CCTV's prime time.

Li Xiaoping knew more and was more confident, so she was naturally not as anxious as Cai Yinong.

He smiled and said, "I've always said that, but Mr. Cai has invested a lot in this drama, so he can't wait."

After thinking for a while, she added, "She is very optimistic about Hu Chuan, who plays the male lead. The sooner the TV series is broadcast, the sooner we can see whether Hu Chuan is recognized by the public."

Jiang Heng said: "Hu Chuan is still a good actor!"

"Will Director Jiang let him act in the movie?"

With the end of "The Matrix" trilogy and the withdrawal of "Inception", many people feel that the probability of Wu Aizu and Jiang Heng continuing to cooperate will be greatly reduced.

Firstly, too many collaborations will reduce the audience's expectations for watching the movie.

Secondly, Wu Qiuzu's fame and worth have skyrocketed, so he can receive less pay due to the good cooperative relationship.

But Jiang Heng's films make so much money, it's impossible to always pay less, so the production cost will go up.

Therefore, many people speculate that Jiang Heng will not consider Wu Qizu in the next few films.

Many film and television companies wanted to recommend their own artists to Jiang Heng. Cai Yinong had this idea in mind and asked Li Xiaoping to help test the waters.

(End of this chapter)