Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

All advantages are gone, what's the point in continuing?

"Because... I'm an artist. I decided back in college that I would create spiritual wealth for the people and contribute to the cultural and artistic cause of our motherland."

Xiao Shujun: "...."

This guy is slippery and stubborn like a soft nail.

"What are you thinking?"

"Not to hide it from you, Sister Jun, I've started a small film and television company," Xu Qingyan said, "I want to shoot some TV series, but I've been totally confused lately and haven't been able to find the right direction."

"Clever boy," Xiao Shujun laughed, "You had your mind made up from the beginning. You should've just said it outright."

"Yes," Xu Qingyan admitted with an embarrassed smile.

"Okay, since you've called me Sister Jun, I'll help you out if you're in trouble," Xiao Shujun lowered her gaze, "It's no big deal; I can introduce you to some friends in the film and television industry."

"But take this with a grain of salt in this business... I'm too familiar with it, just give it a casual listen."

"I'm all ears," he said.

"After the state's policy adjustment on the media sector, the current domestic top 1 is Skyline Media. Do you know what their secret is to being number one during the film and television industry's winter?"

"I don't know." Xu Qingyan actually did some research, but still shook his head.

There's no other reason, actors' sky-high salaries, tax evasion, and all sorts of multiple contracts. The increased regulatory scrutiny by the state wiped out most of the bubbles.

Following the tax rectification storm, the market value of major film and television capitals evaporated by tens of billions of yuan one after another.

"Just one word, 'stability!'" Xiao Shujun went on, "In recent years, the stock index of most film and television giants has been falling, but Skyline Media lost the least."

"Ultimately, it's because Skyline Media didn't engage in reckless investments and acquisitions. Instead, they focus on nurturing new directors and a variety of film and animation productions, gradually completing the track change from television to film."

"The second reason is related to their industrial chain layout. Among the three main layouts in the movie industry, Skyline Media only occupies one, film and television distribution. By leveraging the resources accumulated from their television background, they invested in Deer Eye Entertainment (which sells movie tickets), firmly controlling the discourse power of the midstream link."
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Xiao Shujun stopped as the waiter served the dishes.

So the two paused the conversation, Xu Qingyan digesting the words she had just spoken, and Xiao Shujun organizing her thoughts. It wasn't quite going beyond the superficial level of the conversation.

These were all common knowledge in the industry, but she thought Xu Qingyan was a bit naïve. The whole industry was in the midst of a winter, and here he was, eagerly throwing his money into it.

Ah, better to advise him if she could. Others couldn't be bothered, but Xu Qingyan was... She just couldn't bear to watch him jump into a pit of fire.

After the waiter left and all the dishes were served, the bright yellow light fell, and the two sat across a table filled with fine food, neither showing any intention of eating.

"What are you implying, Sister Jun?"

"Have you thought of a good script, or good content? That's the most critical part," Xiao Shujun advised, "Otherwise, the film and television circle is a pit of fire. Everyone who goes in loses."

"I've thought of it, a wuxia-sitcom comedy."

"Wuxia...sitcom...comedy?" Xiao Shujun felt it was incredibly unreliable upon hearing it, "These days, no one even watches wuxia, and the sitcom format has run its course."

"Yes, indeed, not many watch wuxia anymore." Xu Qingyan nodded, admitting, "But it's a small investment, so I think there's not much risk of loss."

"You're very optimistic?" Xiao Shujun looked troubled, "Who's the scriptwriter?"

"Me."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Shujun's eyelids twitched.

"Aren't you a songwriter?"

"A songwriter who can't write scripts is not a good songwriter; literary creation often comes full circle." Xu Qingyan made a joke, "I'm a bit confident about scriptwriting."

With that said, Xiao Shujun naturally wouldn't say much more.

"Alright, I trust your standard."

"Thank you, Sister Jun," Xu Qingyan touched on the matter briefly, without much enthusiasm to discuss the script.

It wasn't because he feared leaks or anything, but because he felt the other party wouldn't be interested. Frankly, even if the script's opening pages were printed out and thrown on the street, they probably wouldn't be worth stealing.

In the end, times had changed.

Big directors shot wuxia films, and flop— they tanked. Big productions didn't work, so he thought trying the water with a small budget should be possible, but no one watched the film, which was met with spit.

That's the harsh reality, more dismal than making adult films.

Still the same old refrain, times have changed. Everyone's taste has evolved, and wuxia is recycled again and again. If the content lacks appeal, that's already bad, but when it's also filled with personal propaganda, who would watch it?

Even Korean movies, known for their bold suspense style, have received a lot of praise in China. But essentially, it's the morbid curiosity playing a role.

Korea has a grading system for movies, China does not. Hence, there's a gap in the suspense and crime genre, and characters like Long Aotian or resentment-fueled revenge dramas quickly dominate the high ground.

But in the end, Korean cinema is just an extreme max version of Hollywood movies. More violent, more bloody, greater conflicts, with more intense thrills.

They're used to narrative driven by resentment, like being bullied at school or violated. The focus is mainly on the fringe groups, with tension maxed out.

But after a while, they tripped themselves up. One cannot eat chili to the point of death. Being constantly fed negative emotions isn't acceptable to audiences, and it also quickly loses novelty.

Take Korean dramas, for example. When a character appears, the audience already knows it's likely they're about to get roughed up.

It's the same with wuxia dramas. Some characters just can't garner interest as soon as they appear.

The protagonist's family gets wiped out by enemies in their childhood, then they spend years mastering powerful martial arts, after which they defeat the bully and encounter romance. They fill the drama with deep-seated vengeance and doomed romance, leading to revenge in the end.

Xu Qingyan was clear that, in Xiao Shujun's mind, this was what his script was like.

He didn't want to explain; there was no need. After all, Xiao Shujun wasn't a partner. As long as she agreed to introduce him to resources, that would be enough. The rest...