Chapter 1829: A Crazy Idea

When it came to betting, Jiang Wen felt it was better not to bet with Zhao Fusheng.

That guy always liked to set traps for others.

No matter what it was, if Zhao Fusheng proposed a bet with someone, it meant he was probably eighty percent sure he would win.

Otherwise, Zhao Fusheng would never do that.

"I'm not betting with you."

With that thought, Jiang Wen decisively shook his head and said to Zhao Fusheng, "Since you want to shoot a sitcom, go ahead."

No kidding, did he think he was a fool? He had been burned a few times already; Jiang Wen would never fall for it again.

A sitcom, also called a situation comedy, is a form of comedic performance that first appeared on radio and has since moved its base to television screens. Sitcoms usually have a fixed cast, one or more storylines, and take place around one or more fixed settings, such as home, workplace, or school.

It is generally believed that the earliest sitcoms appeared during the golden age of American radio, from the end of World War I to the end of World War II, and are now widely accepted worldwide. In many countries, sitcoms are among the most popular television programs.

In the classification of American TV series, sitcoms, soap operas, and drama series all fall under the category of television serials.

Although the latter two often overlap, sitcoms are quite different from them.

Apart from sitcoms, other comedy-heavy series, while similar in content, form, and length to drama series, are usually classified as comedies when competing for television awards.

Other countries differ from the US in how they classify sitcoms and other TV series. In China, many people consider sitcoms a subset of soap operas.

China's first sitcom was "I Love My Family," although "Stories from the Editorial Board" also had elements of a sitcom, but it was promoted as a series.

The settings of sitcoms vary widely, but filming techniques are largely similar, mainly three types: with a live audience, filmed on set; without a live audience, filmed on set, sometimes with canned laughter added later; and location shooting.

Sitcoms filmed with a live audience usually have a central set where most scenes take place. The set has three solid walls, with cameras and the audience outside the open fourth wall, as in "The Simpsons."

Other sitcoms have ongoing storylines, like "Friends" and "The Big Bang Theory."

A common feature of family sitcoms is that the family often adds members at some point, but infants are hard to control, so aside from being cute, they offer little benefit for filming. Therefore, most toddlers with lines in sitcoms are four or five years old or older.

Most contemporary sitcoms are shot with multiple cameras on a fixed soundstage, often with a live audience for laughter. After editing, they air days or weeks later.

Some sitcoms do not have pre-recorded canned laughter, such as the American show "Scrubs."

"Sex and the City" initially had a sitcom feel but later chose a different path.

Most American sitcoms are exactly thirty minutes long, including commercial breaks, meaning an actual runtime of about twenty-two minutes.

Other countries differ from the US. American sitcom writers usually work in large teams around a round table to discuss and write plots, while British sitcom writers are typically pairs or solo.

In China, well, it's basically a group discussion.

Although sitcom filming techniques have improved, and plots, jokes, and performances have become more mature and aligned with public taste, their essence has never changed.

In the end, a sitcom is a thirty-minute performance where actors entertain the audience in familiar situations. Throughout television history, we can see many similarities among different sitcoms, which may be the source of their vitality.

But at the same time, this also limits the development of sitcoms.

Once the audience grows tired and jokes no longer resonate, sitcoms decline.

That's why Jiang Wen wasn't too keen on Zhao Fusheng investing in this show.

Because in Old Jiang's view, the market for sitcoms in China had been so impacted by TV dramas that there was almost no room for growth.

"Are you that lacking in confidence?"

Looking at Jiang Wen, Zhao Fusheng smiled and asked.

"It's not a lack of confidence."

Jiang Wen shook his head at Zhao Fusheng's words: "Take a close look. In recent years, it's not that no one in the country has invested in sitcoms, but the result is that they all lost heavily, most couldn't even recoup their investment."

That was the truth. The film and television investment industry wasn't as glamorous as it seemed. Hollywood was a deep, unfathomable pool, and China was the same.

You might invest ten million and not even see a ripple.

More importantly, you might not even know how that ten million disappeared.

"I understand what you mean."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said to Jiang Wen, "But take a look at this script, and you'll understand why I want to give it a try."

Jiang Wen was taken aback, looking at Zhao Fusheng with some surprise.

If Zhao Fusheng still insisted under these circumstances, then it seemed this script must have something to it.

With that thought, Jiang Wen picked up the script and began to read.

Zhao Fusheng wasn't in a hurry; he waved his hand and told the driver to start the car and head to Jiang Wen's place.

The car wasn't going fast, and by the time they reached Jiang Wen's house, barely an hour had passed.

Getting out of the car, Zhao Fusheng glanced at Jiang Wen: "Well, got it?"

"Interesting."

Jiang Wen closed the script, got out of the car, and said to Zhao Fusheng, "I kind of understand your thinking now."

He really did begin to grasp Zhao Fusheng's idea. Although this show was no different from other sitcoms, the key issue was that it suited the tastes of Chinese people.

Pure comedy, without so much preaching, and even when making a point, it didn't lecture too harshly. Plus, the story was set in the martial arts genre, which would surely appeal to Chinese audiences with a martial arts complex.

To be precise, this show cleverly captured what today's audiences wanted. If it were made, it would indeed have a market.

"Let's give it a try."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said to Jiang Wen, "Including the script, the investment won't exceed twenty million. I think we can at least recoup the costs, right?"

"That's true."

Jiang Wen nodded: "The investment isn't high, and we don't need big-name actors. It's worth testing the waters."

If the investment had been over fifty million, Jiang Wen would have stopped Zhao Fusheng, but with less than twenty million, he thought it was worth a try.

After all, as Zhao Fusheng himself said, with an investment of less than twenty million, even selling the show to some TV stations for second or third runs could recoup the costs.

Both Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen knew that well.

"Come on, let's call Ye Jing later and talk about this."

Zhao Fusheng patted Jiang Wen on the shoulder and said to him.

Now that Jiang Wen had started to get involved in the management of Future Films, since he had taken on this project, he should be responsible for it.

And Ye Jing, as the head of Future Films, also needed to know about this plan.

"Why wait?"

Jiang Wen waved his hand: "There's no time like the present. I'll call him right now, and we'll have dinner together tonight."

Then he laughed and said, "I think the role of Innkeeper Tong could be played by Feihong."

Ah?

This time, it was Zhao Fusheng's turn to be stunned.

He had never considered having anyone other than Yan Ni play Tong Xiangyu.

But Jiang Wen's suggestion seemed to open a new world for him.

"What, you don't want to?"

Zhao Fusheng didn't speak, so Jiang Wen looked at him with some surprise and confusion: "Since this show is a sitcom, I say we just use actors from within the company. Twenty million isn't much; consider it the company promoting its own people."

From a different perspective, the way of thinking about problems also differed. Previously, Jiang Wen thought sitcoms had no future, but now he felt it might be workable.

"Ah, I have no objections." Zhao Fusheng snapped back to reality, waved his hand, and said to Jiang Wen, "If Sister Feihong is willing to act, of course I have no problem."

He paused and then said with a smile, "But you have to tell her first that the pay for this show isn't high, so she shouldn't complain about it being too little."

That was the truth. With a budget of twenty million, even the main actors' per-episode fee wouldn't exceed ten thousand yuan.

In other words, even if they shot eighty episodes and were one of the main roles, the income from one show wouldn't exceed eight hundred thousand, and for newcomers, it would be even less.

Of course, for newcomers, earning several hundred thousand from one show wasn't too shabby.

"She definitely won't." Jiang Wen said with a smile: "She's helping the company promote newcomers. As the company's leading lady and shareholder, who else would put in the effort? I tell you, I've already thought it through. I'll be the producer and director for this show."

"Ah?"

Zhao Fusheng was dumbfounded at these words.

What kind of crazy situation was this?

Yu Feihong playing Tong Xiangyu!

Jiang Wen as director and producer!

Was this "The Legend of the Condeming Heroes"?

Zhao Fusheng felt his brain couldn't keep up.

But seeing Jiang Wen looking so confident, he didn't seem to be joking; he seemed serious about putting his ideas into practice.

If it weren't for knowing that Jiang Wen hadn't been drinking at lunch, Zhao Fusheng would have suspected he was drunk and talking nonsense.