The Chen Bingyao family has been operating in Malaysia for nearly a hundred years and still has some energy in the local area.
Under his recommendation, Zhang Yida met Rohana Rojan, CEO of Astro Group of Malaysia.
As Asia's richest man and the boss of the world's largest unicorn company, Zhang Yida is somewhat famous. On behalf of the soon-to-be-established Rocket TV, Zhang Yida easily finalized a cooperation with the Astro Group.
Astro Group is Malaysia's leading platform in digital media fields such as television, OTT, and radio, serving 5.7 million households in Malaysia, which accounts for approximately 76% of the total number of households in Malaysia.
Astro has many channels, including Huahua Channel, a Cantonese channel co-operated with TVB, Huanxi Channel, which only speaks Hokkien, and seven or eight Chinese-language channels. The Miss Chinese beauty pageant is held on the TV station every year.
In the early years, all Chinese in Malaysia watched TVB. In recent years, they have also begun to watch domestic TV series such as "Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace" and "Dajiang Dahe".
Of course, Malaysia itself will also film TV series starring Chinese or Malays.
In addition to Chinese TV programs and variety shows, TV stations also broadcast Chinese news, and there are Chinese schools in Malaysia.
When it comes to recognition of Chinese culture, Malaysia ranks first among overseas countries.
Under the preliminary cooperation agreement, the drama series and variety shows produced by Astro will be launched on the Rocket TV App.
At the same time, Rocket Video brand channel will also be added to Astro’s TV channels.
Rocket TV’s first overseas stop is Malaysia, where it will launch a video playback APP.
In order to kick off this first shot, Rocket TV also decided to cooperate with Astro to film a TV series-"Nanqiao Mechanics".
During the Anti-Japanese War, the Nationalist Government retreated to the southwest rear area. In order to transport international aid, military supplies, industrial production raw materials and daily necessities for the people in the rear area, it built the historically famous "Burma Highway", a road connecting Kunming to Yangon Port in Myanmar.
The main artery of life.
Mr. Tan Kah Kee, the leader of the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, after learning that his motherland needed a large number of car drivers and repairmen, issued the "Announcement No. 6 of the South Overseas Chinese Association", calling on young overseas Chinese drivers and mechanics to return to the country to participate in the Anti-Japanese War and fight with the country.
In 1985, the Yunnan Provincial Government built a 9-meter-high monument with a marble veneer as the "Nanqiao Machinery Workers Anti-Japanese Monument" in Xishan, Kunming.
This is to commemorate those overseas Chinese who resolutely returned to serve the motherland in the Anti-Japanese War.
The inscription on the monument reads: "There were more than 3,000 Nanqiao mechanics who returned to serve in the country. More than 1,000 people died for the country due to war, car accidents and diseases, and more than 1,000 people returned to their country of residence after the war.
, and the remaining more than a thousand people have stayed. The survivors are less than a hundred...".
According to statistics, almost half of the materials and equipment of the Chinese army during the Anti-Japanese War were transported through the Burma Road, and the cars transporting these materials were driven by Nanqiao mechanics and other drivers.
The overseas Chinese in Nanyang still played a great role in the Anti-Japanese War, whether it was donating money or materials, or sending their descendants back to China to join the war.
The purpose of filming this TV series is not only to wake up the minds of the domestic people who are accustomed to watching anti-Japanese dramas, but also to target some of the target groups, the Chinese in Southeast Asia.
After returning to China, Zhang Yida found Kang Honglei, the director of "My Leader, My Team", hoping that he would direct this TV series.
After Kang Honglei read the script, he seemed hesitant to speak.
Zhang Yida asked with a smile: "Director Kang, if you have anything to say, just say it directly!
If you think the budget is not enough, we can add more. What I want is the effect of the plane covering the sky and the bombs falling like dumplings.
Of course, the truck can't run like "The Fast and the Furious".
If you really shoot like that, what's the difference between it and those TV shows where you shoot the Japanese with bows and arrows?
On the premise of respecting history, we will restore that period of history to a high degree.”
Kang Honglei nodded, "Mr. Zhang, I know everything you said.
The key point is that this drama involves the fruit party, so the higher-ups have to let it be filmed, right?
Let me tell you the truth, "My Leader, My Group" has set a lot of restrictions."
Zhang Yida took a breath of air-conditioning. This thing really needs to pay attention to the scale and not beautify the fruit party.
Otherwise, once it is filmed, it will be taken off the shelves or not released.
"That's no problem. I will submit the script to the relevant departments first, and we will start filming after it is approved.
With such a big investment, I definitely still hope that the TV series will be released, and at the worst it will be a bubble, right?"
Kang Honglei was troubled in his heart. He was considered a person who had suffered a lot.
If it weren't for the fact that the script and story were really good, it wasn't a piece of shitty stuff, and it might become popular in Southeast Asia, he really wouldn't want to take on this kind of filming assignment.
It took a lot of energy and ended up not being able to be released, which was really thankless.
Kang Honglei gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, just shoot, but you have to worry about communicating with the superiors, Mr. Zhang."
Zhang Yida nodded, "That's no problem, but I still have to explain to you more about the content shooting."
Kang Honglei has a headache. What he hates most is his boss giving him instructions and limiting the scope.
The coal boss just said that he would hire a female number one and number two, and Internet capital would be the most difficult to maintain.
Various big data audience portraits, target group analysis... I have heard complaints from other directors over the years.
Zhang Yida smiled and almost knew why Kang Honglei was frowning.
Explained: "Don't worry, I will only mention this once. I will never interfere with the specific shooting."
Okay, let me hear your opinion.
Kang Honglei straightened his body and looked like he was listening attentively.
Zhang Yida said: "The Chinese in Southeast Asia are a special group. At that time, they served the motherland, which was definitely different from the people born and raised in our own country.
What I mean is that it is different from domestic anti-Japanese dramas, so it needs to have a different flavor.
From the character's dialogue, demeanor, clothing and even thoughts, it must fit the background, era and people at that time.
It is said that many people on the highway at that time could recognize the Nanqiao mechanics at a glance and were deeply impressed by them.
Because they are always more particular, especially their hair is always meticulous, well-educated, and all of them are well-groomed, and one-third of them are recruited by the local people in Yunnan Province to be their husbands.
Starting from their hometowns in various parts of Southeast Asia by boat, and then facing the harsh road conditions during transportation, there were bombings from planes in the sky, and finally the Yunnan-Burma Highway was completely blocked. The Nanqiao mechanics were disbanded and started a family locally...
There is no need for a superhero, just a transportation job, and there is no such thing as a one-man war god who can kill a lot of people.
It describes a group, not just one or two protagonists.
Because each of them had a different life, some died in wars or car accidents, some returned to Southeast Asia, and some got married and started families in Yunnan Province."
Kang Honglei's eyes lit up when he heard this. This was not just tailor-made for me.
If it were any other director, who would dare to shoot like this without giving the protagonist some trouble, he would definitely be defeated.
"Okay, no problem, Mr. Zhang, I understand what you mean. This is the multi-line narrative method and group character creation of American dramas."
Zhang Yida nodded, that's what he meant.
"Oh, also, I plan to follow HBO's approach to the show. The plot is more compact and the climax is repeated. It is best to maintain a short series of 10-20 episodes."
Kang Honglei frowned, "It's so short. It's not easy to tell the story well. It's a test of your skills. There's no precedent to follow."
Zhang Yida said with a smile: "In the future, online dramas will become high-quality and short dramas are inevitable.
There is no precedent, so we will be the first to eat crabs."