Chapter 1308: The invitation from Central TV's Spring Festival Gala!
Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
Later that morning.
The studio's staff were all getting into action.
Zhang Ye was not sitting idle either and had already started writing a script.
Singing?
Performing a crosstalk?
Or performing a skit?
He deleted and changed it many times as he kept working hard on it.
In the end, Zhang Ye was still undecided about what to do. So he thought that he might as well call Yao Jiancai to ask him over.
When Old Yao arrived, Zhang Ye had him to sit down and handed him a crosstalk script. "I've written something in broad strokes. Take a look and tell me how is it, please."
Yao Jiancai was still unsure about what was going on. "Why?"
"Have a look first," Zhang Ye urged.
When Yao Jiancai had a look, he was stunned. After he came back around, he started wondering why Zhang Ye had written a crosstalk script. Was there a performance or gala coming up soon?
The answer was too obvious!
Old Yao said in a stunned manner, "Holy shit! You're planning to go on the Spring Festival Gala?"
Zhang Ye threw up his hands. "Do you have to be this surprised?"
"How is this not surprising!" Yao Jiancai exclaimed.
Zhang Ye said, "Let me correct you, first of all. It's not that I'm planning to go on the Spring Festival Gala, we are planning to go on the Spring Festival Gala." With a pause, he smacked his lips and said, "But this script is too sloppy and won't be suitable for a stage like the Spring Festival Gala. Although I can also do a more formal type of crosstalk, that's not our style at all. Why don't we perform a skit instead?"
Yao Jiancai interrupted, "Before talking about what kind of a performance to do, can you first consider the possibility of getting invited to the gala?"
"In the past, I couldn't. But it's different now," Zhang Ye said with a smile.
Yao Jiancai was startled and finally realized it. "That's right, I nearly forgot!"
"Haha, so are you gonna join me or not?"
"Of course! How can I miss out on something as good as this!"
"That's that, then."
"You're really going to make a push for the S-list?"
"Yep."
"Alright then, let this old bro give you a helping hand!"
The last step of the "Reach the Summit" plan was: get on the Central TV Spring Festival Gala!
There really weren't too many A-list celebrities who hadn't been on the Central TV Spring Festival Gala. But Zhang Ye was exactly one of those few oddities that existed, even though this didn't mean that he would never get on the Spring Festival Gala. It was just that he didn't get a chance to do so in the past. In recent years, Central TV's Spring Festival Gala had been scolded and criticized by an enormous amount of people, yet this was still the largest stage that one could be on in China with nothing else coming close. Be it Zhang Ye's A Bite of China, King of Masked Singers, The Voice, or I Am a Singer, the viewership ratings of those shows would not even make up a tiny portion that the gala would get. The number of viewers for all of those show also could not outnumber the Spring Festival Gala's audience numbers even if they were all added together. This was because they were on a totally different magnitude of performance stages. In the entire country, and even across Asia or the entire world, there wasn't another stage that was bigger than the stage of China's Spring Festival Gala!
This was what the Spring Festival Gala was!
The one and only of its kind in the world!
Back when the studio was drawing up the "Reach the Summit" plan, they had not really considered the feasibility and practicality of the proposal. Zhang Ye had told them to come up with anything that they could think of and to be more daring with their ideas. That was how they came up with such a proposal in the end. At that time, Zhang Ye and Central TV's relationship was at a low as they battled each other with seething passion. Central TV had entirely banned him at that time, so not to mention having him appear on the Spring Festival Gala, if he even dared to come through the main entrance of Central TV, he would surely get a lot of disdainful looks. As such, this last step of the "Reach the Summit" plan was also the most difficult one of all. At the beginning, none of the studio's staff thought that this could be accomplished.
So who could have expected that all of that would change in a few months down the road?
Central TV had gone through a leadership change!
Zhang Ye was reported about on News Simulcast!
All of these indicated that the relationship between Zhang Ye and Central TV was finally thawing!
And the most crucial factor was that Zhang Ye had married the head of the SARFT. This made the situation even harder to gauge. Disregarding anything else, just the ban should no longer be in effect. So if you seriously thought about it, at this point in time, there was actually hope that Zhang Ye could get on this year's Spring Festival Gala. In fact, he even stood a very great chance of doing so. The director of this year's Spring Festival Gala had already been decided. It was Director Li Ke, one of the top three directors of the Chinese film industry. Zhang Ye knew him personally, and it could even be said that they had quite a good relationship. The two of them had worked together during the opening ceremony of the Olympics, and Li Ke also attended his wedding.
It was a golden opportunity!
This should be the closest that Zhang Ye had gotten to appearing on the Spring Festival Gala!
If he wanted to make it into the S-list, how could he not appear on the Spring Festival Gala? Therefore, this was why it was included as the last step in the "Reach the Summit" plan. This would be Zhang Ye's final push to get him into the S-list!
Noon.
A call came in.
It was Ha Qiqi who answered. After a few words, she hung up and then announced excitedly, "Comrades, the Spring Festival Gala's production team has officially invited Director Zhang to appear on the show!"
"Ah!"
"That's great!"
"They've really sent out the invitation!"
"I knew it!"
Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Then let's make the most of today to get the show out."
"Alright!"
"Got it!"
Everyone was motivated and gung ho!
Dong Shanshan also dropped by.
Zhang Ye waved to her. "Hurry up, Shanshan. It's time to go through the script!"
Dong Shanshan laughed and said, "Are you serious?"
"Of course I am!" Zhang Ye said.
Yao Jiancai said, "The Spring Festival Gala's production team has officially invited Zhang Ye to the show."
Dong Shanshan shrugged. "Alright, but we better not get eliminated when it goes up for selection. That would be too embarrassing."
Zhang Ye was a little exasperated. "My dear classmate, can you have a little more confidence in me? How bad can it be if it's a skit written by this bro?"
Dong Shanshan beamed and said, "Just because you came up with that reject prostitution, reject gambling, and reject table tennis skit during Beijing TV's Spring Festival Gala? Haven't you been scolded enough?"
"That was an exception. I'll write a better one this time." Zhang Ye cleared his throat.
Yao Jiancai chuckled and said, "Come on, Shanshan."
Dong Shanshan said, "Alright then."
The decision of appointing the executive director for the Spring Festival Gala had dragged on for a very long time this year. The main issue was that no one had wanted to take this "hot potato" of a job. In the end, it was still Li Ke who took it on. It was also during this time that the program list would slowly start forming as show proposals from all over the country got submitted to them before a selection was carried out. There was still quite a bit of time before the Spring Festival Gala took place, but the preparations for it had already kicked off. The countdown to the Spring Festival Gala had begun!
…
In a crosstalk troupe.
"Old Tang, this script isn't good enough!"
"Hai, let's keep working on it."
"Little Sun, you guys come up with another version."
"It's already been a month, but we still haven't come up with an acceptable version?"
"Everyone, let's put more effort in! The show selection has already begun!"
…
In a dance school.
"Do it once more!"
"That's not good enough, again!"
"Little He, what's with you!"
"Little Sun, how many times do I have to criticize you? Your movements are too soft!"
"What kind of a stage is the Spring Festival Gala? We've been practicing for half a year, but the two dances are still not good enough! I'll say this to you all. Either do it well, or I'll replace you with someone else!"
…
At a skit actor's house.
"How's the script!"
"It's not working out. I can't write it."
"We're almost out of time."
"Give me another two weeks. I'll come up with something even if I die trying!"
"Are you sure you can finish it within two weeks?"
"I can definitely do it this time!"
"Alright!"
…
For one show.
Some people prepared for three months.
Some people prepared for six months.
There were even some people who took a full year to prepare for it.
This was what the Central TV Spring Festival Gala was. It was a stage with the most brutal competition as everyone gave their all just to be able to get on the show. Further, they weren't even guaranteed a spot.
In contrast, the situation was wholly different at Zhang Ye's Studio!
The scripts were getting completed too easily!
It was so easy that it was scary!
One after another!
And another!
Later that afternoon.
"Old Yao, what do you think of this script?"
"Eh? There's still another one?"
"Yeah, read it!"
"Alright—OK, I'm done reading it. It's really good! It's fantastic!"
"Shanshan, what do you think?"
"It's not as good as the last one."
"Is that so? Then I'll write another one."
"Ah? You're still writing more?"
"Yeah, I want everyone to agree on it!"
"This, this is already more than enough."
During the morning hours until now, Zhang Ye had written two crosstalk and six skit scripts in total. Furthermore, to everyone in Zhang Ye's Studio, and both Yao Jiancai and Dong Shanshan, they were all good works that would shock anyone who read them. They were all masterpieces that would definitely qualify for the Spring Festival Gala performances. Because of that, they were unable to decide on which one to use as they thought that all of them were way too fucking good!
After ten minutes, another script was completed!
Little Wang yelled, "This one is good!"
Ha Qiqi said anxiously, "Aiya! Actually, the third one is pretty good too!"
Zhang Zuo disagreed with her. "I like the fourth skit's script better!"
Tong Fu exclaimed excitedly, "Director Zhang, use the fifth one please. It's such a classic!"
In the end, Zhang Ye became exhausted from all the writing.
He sighed in lament and said, "In the past when people said that it was very tiring and not easy to write a script for the Spring Festival Gala, I didn't believe them. But now, I finally believe it."
Hearing that, everyone nearly puked blood!
Yao Jiancai called out to him, "Zhang'er."
Zhang Ye turned around. "What?"
Yao Jiancai stared at him. "Can you not show off?"
Zhang Ye said in surprise, "When was I showing off?"
Dong Shanshan rolled her eyes. "If anyone else hears you saying that, they'd probably be driven to their graves by you!"
Zhang Ye did not understand. "What's wrong? I'm really tired after writing eight or nine of these scripts!"
Ha Qiqi was speechless.
Zhang Zuo was speechless.
Little Wang was speechless.
Others couldn't come up with a good script even after working for several months on it. Just one script alone could have several dozen versions that would have taken them several months to write!
But in only a few hours, you've already produced nine scripts like it!
And you call this tiring?
You're saying this isn't easy?
Then wouldn't it be better for the others to just go and die?!