1993, Shi, who was not admitted to the university, entered RTVU to study finance and trade. After completing his studies, he worked in Dazhou Environmental Sanitation Department as the chief of finance department. Shi doesn't like doing finance. 200 1, he quit his job and came to Beijing to study computer. Soon after, Shi set up a company focusing on wedding photography and host training. It is precisely because of the wedding company that Lao Meng has the audio, video camera and microphone needed to organize the "cottage Spring Festival Evening".
In the winter of 2008, on his way to Zhengzhou to attend the wedding, he took stock of the entertainment events of the past year and found that 2008 was a bad year for newcomers. This is a good signal, which means that there will be no strong competitors in the field of star-making in the short term. "I understand what the media is concerned about." Lao Meng said, "I also know how to make hot spots." This self-confidence comes from his long-term concern and analysis of network hot events, and boasts that he knows the inside story and necessary elements like the back of his hand.
He took a fancy to a friend, a wandering singer with a loose personality but brilliant talent. He wants to make him famous. The creative combination of "shanzhai Spring Festival Gala" came into being, and it will be "hot". Lao Meng judged at the time. Before getting off the train, he thought of a slogan-challenging CCTV Spring Festival Gala. "CCTV spring is here, let's do something for Baliren." After returning to Beijing from Zhengzhou, Lao Meng was so excited about his great idea that he decided to suspend all his current business. He set up the organizing committee in an office of 130 square meters next to lishuiqiao, then set up a blog and invited some friends from the literary and art circles to help. However, this painstaking arrangement failed to get the response of the original protagonist-the wandering singer-whose cultural company just closed down and was heavily in debt. Lao Meng decided not to wait. At the end of June, 2008, he spent 1 140 yuan hanging the banner of "Spring Festival Evening in Shanzhai" on the van and walking around the streets. "I need to find excellent programs and talents from the society." Lao Meng said, "Moreover, it can also attract the attention of journalists."
On October 28th, 2008/KLOC-0, the reporter of Jinghua Times received a phone call from an old man saying that there was a strange van running in the street. Reporter Li Huibo met Lao Meng downstairs in a residential area. "He gives the impression that he is honest." In a hasty interview for half an hour, Lao Meng said, "This cottage version of the Spring Festival Evening is to let the bottom people in Beijing, especially migrant workers and college students who can't go home for the New Year, get together for a lively year."
"I'll do whatever you do, but I'm better than you in some places." Lao Meng said at the time, "I am confident to be more creative than CCTV." He also set up a CCTV (China Rural TV Station) website, and all the signs are aimed at CCTV. After the press release of "Citizens Want to Run a Counterfeit Spring Festival Evening to Challenge CCTV" was published in the newspaper, the website immediately reprinted it crazily, and two days later, the media army swarmed in. Words such as "PK CCTV", "subverting tradition", "national entertainment" and "the rise of grassroots culture" occupy important pages, and netizens are also applauding.
An exciting person, an ambitious plan, was pushed into the spotlight as he wished. In just half a month, the organizing committee received more than 700 proposals. Lao Meng had to publish a notice on the website to terminate the program collection in advance.
Someone else came to see you. They are enterprises, hotels, cultural companies, planning groups and art dealers, and they smell business opportunities. Whenever a company representative comes, Lao Meng invites the other party into a separate room and refuses to listen to the live media. Lao Meng said that many enterprises put forward various harsh requirements to him-monopolizing naming rights, spending money on programs, joining the organizing Committee, or playing soft advertisements in the form of live slogans, leaders' speeches, prizes, etc. A cultural company simply put a considerable sum of money in front of Lao Meng, hoping that he would package and transfer the "shanzhai Spring Festival Evening".
From mid-June, 5438 to February, 2008, a newspaper in Beijing revealed that "the Spring Festival Evening in Shanzhai attracted millions of sponsors", which made Lao Meng suddenly suspected of collecting money. The media began to defect, saying it had become a commercial farce. "It's all misleading by the media." Lao Meng said, "I don't even have a penny for sponsorship." He still insists that the party is purely grassroots entertainment, with no tickets, no advertisements and no appearance fees. But few people believe it. Choose 100 from 700 programs, then choose 50 programs, and finally compress 35 programs ... This makes Lao Meng very painful, and there are too many good programs. However, Lao Meng thought very far. In a conversation with sponsors, he put forward his own idea: those outstanding programs that were not selected can also form other styles of parties for commercial performances. "He has done market research and evaluation in this field," said a member of the organizing committee who asked not to be named. "The goal of the shanzhai Spring Festival Gala is to win at least two hosts and five singers or actors." The member also revealed that there are five or six cultural companies under Lao Meng's name, all of which are empty shells. When some actors of "Shanzhai Spring Festival Evening" became popular, they signed contracts with them in the name of these companies to trade in Shang Yan. But for these contents, Lao Meng himself has always been secretive. On June 5438+February 65438+March 2008, Hu Shu, the producer of Guizhou Satellite TV's special program department, walked into Lao Meng's office. He saw Lao Meng's fake Spring Festival Gala on the Internet. * * * Five days later, the two sides reached an intention of co-broadcasting, and agreed that it would be a pleasant win-win combination-Guizhou Satellite TV formed a brand effect with the super popularity of "Shanzhai Spring Festival Evening", while the latter had 500 million viewers covered by the former.
On June 5438+February 65438+February, 2008, the press conference of the Spring Festival Evening in Shanzhai was held. Lao Meng specially chose a building next to the "Bird's Nest". In the crowded hall of dozens of media, it is difficult for him to restrain his inner excitement, from his own originality to a hot event with hundreds of millions of viewers. "This is a party run by the people throughout the country." During the speech, Lao Meng broke the manuscript several times and bowed with his fist from time to time. "I have absolute confidence in her success." At the press conference, Lao Meng and Hu Shu signed a TV broadcast intention agreement. Guizhou Satellite TV will provide professional support for the shanzhai Spring Festival Gala. Besides providing a film and television base in Beijing, it will also provide artistic and technical guidance.
Hu Shu suggested to Lao Meng that in order to avoid the negative meaning of "shanzhai", it would be more appropriate to rename "shanzhai Spring Festival Gala" as "grassroots Spring Festival Gala" or "civilian Spring Festival Gala" and conduct some censorship on the broadcast of the program from the perspective of TV stations. Lao Meng kept his word. In addition, under Hu Shu's "modest and pragmatic" suggestion, Lao Meng deleted radical slogans such as "challenge" and "PK" on the website, and repeatedly said in public that he would "learn from CCTV Spring Festival Evening". These were later regarded by the media as a sign that the "shanzhai Spring Festival Evening" was being recruited. Lao Meng retorted that the TV station only provided a broadcasting platform, and the program selection was still in the hands of the organizing Committee. "The cottage Spring Festival Evening will not change its taste." Just after a weekend holiday, Hu Shu didn't even have time to plan his next job. Television stations have been instructed to the effect that radio, film and television institutions are not allowed to contact shanzhai programs. This is undoubtedly a "military order." In order to save the cooperation with the "shanzhai Spring Festival Evening", a deputy director of Guangzhou TV Station and a local leader immediately went to Beijing and submitted written explanations. Hu Shu also held the mentality of "wait and see" and did not explain it to Lao Meng for the time being.
A few days later, after confirming that there was no room for manoeuvre, on February 27, 2008, at 65438, Uncle Hu told Lao Meng the truth. At the other end of the phone, the excitement that lasted less than a week stopped abruptly. "The broadcast of the whole party is definitely gone." Hu Shu said, "But it is not excluded that some excellent programs will be broadcast in some columns." The two sides terminated the contract peacefully. The bad things are not over yet. The withdrawal of Guizhou Satellite TV brought an inexplicable psychological vacuum, and the enterprise withdrew its sponsorship intention. Some actors asked for retirement. Even within the organizing committee, there are negative emotions. "Lao Meng is the most uncomfortable." A member of the organizing Committee said, "It's not his fault, but he must bear all this."
Lao Meng returned to his original state. He drove the van all day to watch the venue frequently, watching the lighting and sound, and kept secret why the cooperation was suspended.
It's getting closer and closer to the Spring Festival. Lao Meng also finalized the performance venue, a super-large holiday villa. The other party bears all the expenses such as the performance venue, the actor's house, and the meal fee. I spent tens of thousands of yuan in one day. The villa also took the opportunity to launch a publicity campaign of "watching the Spring Festival Evening in hot springs" to create momentum for the consumption tide of the Spring Festival. Now, two Internet companies have promised to provide live webcast service for the Spring Festival Evening in Shanzhai. From June 5438+1October 15, 2009, all actors will enter the closed rehearsal stage. If there are no accidents, they will officially perform at 9: 09 pm on New Year's Eve on June 5438+1October 25.
"I have been waiting for that exciting moment." Lao Meng said, but his words were full of fatigue. A special shanzhai Spring Festival Evening, whether the parties admit it or not, is no different from an ordinary paid performance.