Chapter 129: Chapter 128: Fuyao Press Conference
In Gu Bai’s eyes, Yu Zhengji could only be considered a minor episode.
At this moment, inside the Kyoto Cultural and Sports Center, all major media outlets had their cameras poised, ready for Da Mimi’s biggest public appearance in 2017. Many media outlets were prepared to jump on this wave of hype.
The launch of the "Fuyao" project had already exploded online a few days prior, and even netizens who rarely pay attention to TV dramas were brainwashed by all sorts of soft articles published by the pervasive media.
"8.5 billion high investment, Hua Country’s first era-defining TV drama!"
"The investment comparable to the European ’Game of Thrones’: Fuyao."
"With such massive investment, can Fuyao elevate Hua Country TV dramas to another peak?"
These numerous soft articles directly pushed Fuyao’s exposure to the highest. Now, nearly all major media in the country had gathered in the cultural center, carrying higher expectations for this project launch than for those star-studded movie premieres.
The launch had not yet begun, but the reporters were already all set, just waiting for the main characters to appear.
"Do you think this ’Fuyao’ is just for hype? After all, this drama’s budget is several times higher than that of the previous big CCTV production ’New Three Kingdoms.’ So much money just to produce a TV drama?"
A rookie reporter posed a question to the fellow reporters around.
"New in the industry, huh? Whether it’s true or not, as long as we get the latest news first, we don’t need to worry about anything else."
"It probably isn’t fake. Once approved, the investment has to go through verification. There’s no need to create such a hype."
"8.5 billion just for a TV drama, even if it’s 100 episodes, the cost per episode would still be 8.5 million. Can they recoup the costs?"
"Why worry about such things? What does it have to do with us? If they lose money, it’s better for us; we have more news material."
"That’s true."
As the group of reporters chatted, a group of people walked onto the podium, and all the organizers of the Fuyao project were present.
Yang Function wore a bright red blazer, with eyeliner drawn long, exuding a sexy yet sharp urban woman aura. As both an investor and the female lead, she deservedly sat in the central position, while others took seats according to the shares they held in the project. The 11 seats included President Xiao and E Factory Film and Television’s deputy director Bao Ming, who sat beside Yang Function, while some investors didn’t even have the qualification to sit on the podium.
Even though Xiao Qiang wasn’t a star, her looks were outstanding even among celebrities. She wore a business suit without deliberately dressing up but still held her own against Yang Function, which gave the reporters below plenty of ideas for questioning.
Although this launch was a great opportunity to boost reputation, since the venue was in Kyoto, Gu Bai was too lazy to go, so he sent Xiao Qiang as his representative. Moreover, as the company president, personally attending a TV drama project’s press conference would indeed seem beneath him.
Yang Function tested the mic, exchanged glances with Xiao Qiang and Bao Ming, then signaled the host that the press conference could begin.
The host, upon receiving the signal, immediately stood up.
"Welcome everyone to the Fuyao TV project’s launch conference. First, we invite the project representatives to speak."
After saying this, Yang Function, as the project representative, stood up and recited the welcome speech, regardless of whether the media reporters liked it or not, as the protocol had to be followed. If anyone disturbed the proceedings, the security personnel nearby would immediately escort them out.
About half an hour passed, and the basic processes had ended.
"Next is the media representatives’ question time, which will last 1 hour."
Finally, it was the moment the reporters were eagerly waiting for. As soon as the host finished speaking, the front-row reporters began to eagerly raise their hands.
Yang Function glanced slightly and finally spotted a familiar reporter, then smiled and invited him to stand up and ask a question. With such a massive project launch, without planting some insiders to guide the rhythm, it would surely be led astray by those media who only cared about popularity.
The invited reporter hurriedly stood up, placing the microphone near his mouth.
"President Yang, hello. I’m a reporter from Qingyun Entertainment. I would like to ask, is the announced investment of 8.5 billion yuan for the Fuyao project true?"
Yang Function was attending the press conference as the project investor, so it was appropriate for the reporter to address her as President Yang.
As an insider, the question was harmless, and Yang Function answered with a smile: "The project’s original estimated investment was 5 billion, but due to various reasons, the total investment was finally increased to 8.5 billion. This figure is officially documented and is indeed true."
After finishing, she invited the next reporter to ask a question.
"President Yang, as the country’s largest TV drama investment project, are you worried about a loss? You know, it’s hard to turn a profit with such a huge investment."
Yang Function frowned; no investor likes to hear others question whether they’ll lose money, and Yang Function was no exception. She answered coldly, "We have great confidence in the ’Fuyao’ project and believe that if it wasn’t because of its outstanding quality, the investors wouldn’t have increased the investment to 8.5 billion."
After saying this, she directly denied the reporter’s second question.
"I noticed that among the investors, ’Black Swan Capital’ doesn’t seem like a film and television investment company, and they’re participating in such investment for the first time. I’d like to ask President Xiao, why, as first-time participants, are you so optimistic about the ’Fuyao’ project?"
Upon hearing the question, Xiao Qiang also slightly drew the microphone closer to herself on the podium.
"As President Yang just mentioned, because the project itself is excellent, our company is very assured to boldly hand over the investment to the program team. I believe that once ’Fuyao’ is released, it will certainly trigger a new wave of viewership.
Also, to correct the reporter friend, it’s not the first time ’Black Swan Capital’ has participated in film and television investment. If anyone is careful enough, they can discover that the ’Tomato Richest’ and ’I Am Not a God of Medicine’ film projects were also led by Black Swan Capital.
Furthermore, ’Black Swan Capital’ is an investment company spanning finance, industry, internet, and entertainment, among others, and just a week ago, we acquired 67% of Wajijiwa Entertainment with a 600 million valuation, restructuring it into a subsidiary. Therefore, you can also see us as a film and television investment company."
After speaking, Xiao Qiang thanked everyone, finishing her response. As for exaggerating acquisition value, it’s normal, as it was a private internal purchase, so she could say as much as she’d like.
This wave not only answered the reporter’s doubts perfectly but also served as a great advertisement for Black Swan Entertainment. Yang Function and the other investors didn’t mind, as it’s a necessary respect for the investor holding the largest share.
As expected, after Xiao Qiang’s response, the reporters finally found a new topic.
Such a giant in capital making its way into the entertainment circle in this manner—isn’t this a big news? Subsequently, the entire press conference seemed to have changed focus, and besides questions about the project itself, there were more attempts to dig out more details about ’Black Swan Capital’ from Xiao Qiang.