"What, if we get into the top 16, we can have a chance to be the protagonist in a movie! And it's a movie invested in by Boss Huang!" Hearing the host announce the reward, many of the celebrities present were instantly tempted.
This was a chance to be the protagonist in a movie, a role that they would normally have to put in tremendous effort to obtain. Now, all they had to do was win. They didn't believe Boss Huang would lie, so this was a guaranteed opportunity.
Of course, if it were an ordinary movie, they might have had to beg these celebrities to play the lead. However, Boss Huang had said that this was a movie with an investment of over 30 million, and it would be released globally, making it a definite big production. Even a second-tier star would have to scheme hard to get such an opportunity.
Most importantly, look at the movies Jiangnan Group was preparing. They were either Marvel Universe series or "The Misty Journey" with an investment of several hundred million dollars. These were top-tier, big-investment films, far superior to the "Hero" by the national director.
By the way, the movie "Hero" only had an investment of 30 million, but it brought together almost all of China's top stars. Although the movie's evaluation wasn't great in the end, it was incredibly popular at the time. The whole country was discussing this movie, and it was destined to leave its mark in Chinese film history.
Among the 64 celebrities present, at least 40 felt an instant surge of energy. Those who had been completely demotivated suddenly became roaring with enthusiasm.
Of course, people like Brother Long and Brother Jie were indifferent to this condition. After all, if they were willing, many movies with investments of over 30 million would actively seek them out. Whether they would agree to star was another question.
However, they also had a thought: if the top 16 could get a chance to be the protagonist in a movie with an investment of over 30 million, what kind of rewards would there be for entering the top 8, top 4, or even winning the championship?
Soon, they heard the host continue, "The contestants who reach the national top 8 will have a set of clothing designed during the competition produced and sold in mass by Caiwei. The designer will receive 25% of the total sales revenue of this set of clothing as profit! As their partner, they will get the opportunity to play the male or female lead in a movie invested by Jiangnan Group with an investment exceeding 80 million RMB!"
"Damn it!" This time, even Brother Long and Brother Jie's expressions changed. An investment of 80 million RMB was definitely an unprecedentedly large investment in Chinese history, enough to be the first in film history.
Therefore, while they had movies with similar investments in the US, they would absolutely not be cast as the male or female leads in movies of this investment level. This meant that if they could reach the top 4, they would have the opportunity to star in the most expensive movie of their lives. Such a reward even tempted them.
"Contestants who reach the national top 4, excluding the champion, will have the opportunity to have all the clothing designed during the competition produced and sold in mass by Caiwei. The designer will receive 40% of the total sales revenue of all clothing as profit."
"And their partners will directly receive the opportunity to play the male or female lead in a Hollywood movie invested by Jiangnan Group. This movie will be a Hollywood-level investment, filmed entirely by a Hollywood team, with a global simultaneous release and an investment of over 50 million US dollars!"
"...!" This time, Brother Long and Brother Jie really couldn't sit still. If the big domestic investment movies were irrelevant to them, after all, they had already entered Hollywood.
Then, a Hollywood-level movie with an investment of over 50 million US dollars would definitely elevate their careers. After all, in Hollywood today, movies with investments over 50 million US dollars were considered top-tier investment blockbusters of the year. Regardless of whether the movie ultimately made a huge profit or a significant loss, it would be an unprecedented achievement in their lives.
"Finally, for the champion contestant, the reward goes without saying. They will naturally become the main designer of the Caiwei brand and an apprentice of Teacher Qu Wei. As for their partner, they will receive a global endorsement contract with Caiwei, becoming the global spokesperson for the Caiwei brand, with a signing fee of 100 million US dollars!" The host, Wang Ya, said. However, even as she spoke the figure of 100 million US dollars, Wang Ya still felt her mouth go dry. This number was truly terrifying.
As for the celebrities sitting there, they were all breathing frantically.
Good heavens, a 100 million US dollar endorsement fee! What did that mean?
It meant they would instantly transform from actors into capital overnight, becoming top-tier capital and completing a class transition.
In front of the television, all the viewers who had watched up to this point were stunned. 100 million US dollars in 2004 was almost equivalent to 1 billion US dollars in 2021. It was a sum that would make all viewers prostrate themselves, unable to even comprehend singing the numbers.
At this moment, the audience finally understood why 64 top national celebrities were present. It was simply because Jiangnan Group was offering too many rewards; they couldn't resist the temptation!
Actually, the audience had misunderstood these celebrities. They had all come out of respect for Boss Huang. It wasn't until they heard the host's words that they realized there was a 100 million US dollar reward waiting for the champion's partner.
"As expected of Jiangnan Group, so awesome, so rich!" Zhao Yao said excitedly, watching the host's speech on television, as if he had already received the 100 million US dollar reward himself.
However, Fan Rui's expression suddenly became a bit unpleasant. Zhao Yao, with his keen perception, noticed the change in his classmate's expression and asked confusedly, "Old Fan, what's wrong? Aren't you happy?"
"I'm just lamenting that ultimately, those who build missiles are not as fortunate as those who sing. The lifetime income of scientists who have dedicated themselves to the country for half their lives, even 100 of them combined, might not equal 100 million US dollars. Yet these celebrities can receive such a sum just by participating in a program. It's truly unfair!" Fan Rui said with a frown.
"Furthermore, I feel that Jiangnan Group is too hypocritical. On one hand, they shout 'prosper the nation with science and technology' and grandly promote their technological advancements. On the other hand, they are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on celebrities and entertainment activities just to promote their luxury brands. This is truly too hypocritical!" Fan Rui said bluntly.
"I understand, you're just jealous, right? Your mouth is full of sourness!" Zhao Yao retorted unceremoniously in response to Fan Rui's questioning.
"I'm not being sour, I just can't stand their fake attitude!" Fan Rui retorted indignantly.
"Alright, doesn't that sound sour?" Zhao Yao sneered. "The money is earned by Jiangnan Group. What do you care how Jiangnan Group spends it?"
"Besides, even if Jiangnan Group spends hundreds of millions of dollars on these actors and luxury goods, so what? Have they taken a single cent from you? At the very least, they are genuinely running this university, and they picked you up with free food, accommodation, and transportation to participate in the exam!"
"If you are fortunate enough to be admitted, you will receive a monthly salary of over 10,000 yuan. In a year, that's 120,000 yuan, and upon successful graduation, it will become 360,000 yuan. This is a solid financial investment, isn't it?"
"Also, this time the special recruitment quota is 1,000 people, meaning that starting next month, Jiangnan Group will have an additional expenditure of 10,000 yuan for each of the 1,000 people, which is 10 million yuan. In a year, that will be 120 million RMB. In a few more years, it will become 360 million RMB, which is nearly 50 million US dollars."
"Oh, and there was that technology bounty they posted earlier. Someone has already received a massive bounty of 100 million US dollars. I heard this person was even a vegetative state individual who hadn't completed high school. And now, to pursue even better solutions, the 100 million US dollar bounty is still posted on the forum. If you, Fan Rui, are capable, then solve this bounty! You can also get 100 million US dollars!"
"Actually, this is just a small amount of money. From this amount, one can infer how much capital Jiangnan Group has invested in technology. For example, their vacuum high-speed rail technology requires at least tens of billions of US dollars to be invested annually. Isn't that more than what's spent on actors? What right do you have to say Jiangnan Group is hypocritical!"
"That's right, you haven't spent money on those actors, but I haven't seen you donate to our country's scientific endeavors either!" Zhao Yao accused unceremoniously, his words hitting Fan Rui like heavy punches, leaving him speechless but unwilling to concede. He muttered, "Even if Jiangnan Group spends a lot of money on technology, they shouldn't give 100 million US dollars to those who only know how to act!"
"Uh... why do you care so much? Perhaps Boss Huang and Boss Huang are willing. Maybe some of those actors are Boss Huang's relatives!" Zhao Yao said grumpily, then focused back on watching television.
From this, it can be seen that Zhao Yao's perspective was still somewhat lacking. Our Boss Huang wasn't doing it for relatives; he was doing it for China's cultural dissemination, for the opportunity for Chinese luxury goods to enter overseas markets in the future!
Alas, many people don't know that the discs of this first episode have already been translated into English subtitles, made into discs, and placed in video rental chain stores in the United States, becoming the first Chinese variety show to land on Netflix, or even in the entire US film and television industry.
Fan Rui sulked for a while, then couldn't help but be drawn back by the content on the television and continued watching.
The subsequent program was a montage of the contestants' two-week creation experiences. It included discussions between contestants and celebrity models, the process of tailoring clothes, detailed explanations of clothing design and production, the selection of various materials and fabrics, as well as conflicts, time pressures, and urgencies.
In any case, the editing techniques of variety shows that were very common in later generations were absolute novelties in 2004, captivating the audience. When all four contestants had appeared, they suddenly realized that an episode had ended, and they could only wait for the second episode to be broadcast a week later.