On a cold winter night in the Northeast, a young man from the countryside is performing stage. He is Zhao Benshan, a grassroots artist with the dream of changing his fate.
In 2004, Zhao Benshan established Benshan Media. At first, the company was small, with only a few dozen people. But Zhao Benshan, with his keen eye, continues to discover new talents. Among them, a young man named Zhang Jiahao caught his attention.
Zhang Jiahao, a gangster from Shijiazhuang, met Zhao Benshan through Zhao Benshan's agent Zhao Gang. Zhao Benshan took a fancy to Zhang Jiahao's wit and ruthlessness, first hired him as a bodyguard, and later promoted him to Benshan Media.
Zhang Jiahao, with his own ability, quickly won Zhao Benshan's trust. In Benshan Media, Zhang Jiahao has served as an assistant to the crew, the roles of "A Hao" and "Brother Hao" in "Ma Dashuai", and finally even promoted to the vice president of the company, which shows that Zhao Benshan attaches great importance to him.
Zhang Jiahao worked hard to recruit talents, and Xiao Shenyang was excavated by him. Xiao Shenyang became popular by relying on the Spring Festival Gala, bringing hundreds of millions of revenue to Benshan Media every year, which undoubtedly further consolidated Zhang Jiahao's position in Zhao Benshan's mind.
For the benefit of the company, Zhang Jiahao has taken a number of innovative measures. He launched an entertainment live broadcast and commodity live broadcast business, requiring all artists to broadcast live for 8 hours a day, and 30% of the live broadcast income was used as his personal commission income.
He also does not raise the salaries of artists, and encourages them to take on more dramas and variety shows to make money, so as to stimulate their commission income. Although Zhang Jiahao's approach was questioned by some people as exploitation, under his operation, Benshan Media gradually grew into an entertainment kingdom.
From a small company with dozens of people at the beginning, it has developed into a comprehensive entertainment group with a number of entertainment companies, film and television companies, and advertising companies, with thousands of employees. Zhao Benshan's entertainment kingdom has quietly risen in the land of Northeast China and has become a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry.
When Benshan Media was thriving, a young man named Xiao Shenyang entered Zhao Benshan's sight. Xiao Shenyang was originally just an unknown two-person actor, but his comedy talent was soon discovered by Zhao Benshan.
Zhang Jiahao contributed a lot in this process, and it was he who introduced Xiao Shenyang to Zhao Benshan. In 2009, under Zhao Benshan's strong opinion, Xiao Shenyang appeared on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala.
That year's Spring Festival Gala sketch "Not Bad Money" became a topic of conversation among people across the country. Xiao Shenyang wore a Scottish skirt and sang "Qinghai-Tibet Plateau" seriously, with exaggerated expressions and unique performance styles, which made the national audience laugh forward and back.
The "wrong trouser leg" in the sketch made him popular all over the country overnight. The success of the Spring Festival Gala has made Xiaoshenyang a hot star. With the support of Zhao Benshan, his career is thriving, and he also starred in the movie "Laughing Jianghu".
However, success seems to have made Xiao Shenyang a little fluttering. He began to no longer listen to Zhao Benshan's arrangements and guidance, and even came up with the idea of flying solo. In 2011, Xiao Shenyang made a key decision: he quit Zhao Benshan's media company, and publicly stated that he would no longer act in sketches and would develop his film and television career in an all-round way.
He confidently embarked on the road of solo flight, thinking that he could show his strength in the film and television industry with his talent. However, leaving the protection of Zhao Benshan, Xiao Shenyang's development in the film and television industry was not smooth.
He has participated in many big-budget films, such as "Let the Bullets Fly" with Fan Bingbing and "Journey to the West" with Jackie Chan, but none of them have been well received. What's even more disappointing is that the comedy films "Havoc in Tianzhu" and "Detective Hunter Zhang" directed and starred in him were dismal at the box office, and the audience responded coldly.
After hitting a wall in the field of commercial films, Xiao Shenyang had to return to the stage of the Spring Festival Gala. But the sketches he brought can no longer replicate the glory of the year, and the ratings are getting worse. The audience gradually lost interest in this former "face-changing gentleman", and Xiao Shenyang slowly faded out of the public's sight.
Although Zhao Benshan has never publicly accused Xiao Shenyang, he expressed his disappointment with this apprentice's floating through sarcasm and telephone persuasion in the show. Xiao Shenyang's story has become a warning in the entertainment industry: leaving the protection of his mentor too early may lead to a rapid decline in his career.
From a high-profile comedy star to an obscure out-of-fashion artist, Xiao Shenyang's experience has undoubtedly sounded the alarm for other artists who want to fly solo. At the same time that Xiao Shenyang withdrew gloomily, another actor named Liu Xiaoguang was emerging in the Zhao family's class.
Liu Xiaoguang was born in rural Hebei, his family is poor, and going to school is a problem. But he loved to perform since he was a child, and often told jokes to everyone in the village, imitating the sounds of various animals, and making the children in the village laugh.
Twenty years ago, Zhao Benshan selected actors in his hometown, and Liu Xiaoguang mustered up the courage to participate in the selection. With his outstanding acting talent, he naturally became Zhao Benshan's disciple.
Under Zhao Benshan's careful training, Liu Xiaoguang's acting skills are improving day by day. He regarded Zhao Benshan as a benefactor and life mentor, and obeyed him. Five years ago, Zhao Benshan launched the hit drama "Country Love", in which Liu Xiaoguang played the role of Zhao Si.
This became an important turning point in his acting career. The rugged and funny Zhao Si was deeply loved by the audience, and Liu Xiaoguang became famous in one fell swoop, and his popularity quickly surpassed that of other disciples of the Zhao family and became the number one person in the Zhao family's class.
With this role alone, Liu Xiaoguang can earn millions of yuan every month and has a large number of die-hard fans. With the rise of the online live broadcast industry, Liu Xiaoguang also joined the live broadcast team.
His live broadcast room is extremely popular, and each live broadcast attracts a large number of fans to watch, which further increases his income. However, fame and fortune bring not only joy, but also hidden dangers.
Liu Xiaoguang's popularity aroused the jealousy of other Zhao family disciples, and everyone was competing to deny Liu Xiaoguang, falsely claiming on the Internet that he used money to buy fans, cheated his personality, and so on. Gradually, his feelings for Zhao Jiaban also changed.
Liu Xiaoguang began to think that he not only relied on Zhao Benshan to get to today's position, but his ability was also very outstanding, and it was time to stand on his own and fly solo in the entertainment industry.
In a live broadcast, when asked if he would leave the Zhao family, Liu Xiaoguang bluntly said that he had become a first-line star, and some media offered him 500 million yuan to change jobs. These words quickly reached Zhao Benshan's ears.
Zhao Benshan immediately asked Liu Xiaoguang to come to see him. Facing the master, Liu Xiaoguang mustered up the courage to ask Zhao Benshan how much price he would offer to let him go. However, Zhao Benshan did not mention the money, but asked Liu Xiaoguang to talk to his eldest disciple Zhang Jiahao.
Hearing Zhang Jiahao's name, Liu Xiaoguang thundered like five thunderbolts, and instantly dispelled the idea of leaving the Zhao family. In his heart, Zhang Jiahao is high and mysterious, and he is a character he must not provoke.
He still cherishes his life more than money. Through this incident, Liu Xiaoguang realized that his position in the Zhao family was in jeopardy. These overly arrogant remarks made Zhao Benshan and Zhang Jiahao see his true colors, and they probably won't reuse Liu Xiaoguang anymore.
Although Liu Xiaoguang said afterwards that of course he would continue to stay in the Zhao family, he also knew in his heart that his good life was basically over, and he was afraid that he would never return to his former glory.
Liu Xiaoguang's story shows the dilemma and choice of a new star in the face of fame and fortune. His experience also offers a profound lesson for other artists who want to go solo: loyalty and humility may be more important than talent in the entertainment industry.
Zhang Jiahao, this name is almost unknown to everyone in Benshan Media. However, in the outside world, he is a mysterious being.
Born in a small place in Shijiazhuang, Zhang Jiahao has dreamed of breaking through in a big city since he was a child. However, due to his poor family, he had to drop out of school and follow a gang of social gangsters outside.
With his good skills and strong personality, Zhang Jiahao gradually became famous in the local area, and even accepted dozens of younger brothers and became a local tyrant. In 2004, a chance encounter changed the course of his life.
He met Zhao Gang, who played the role of "Gangzi" in Ma Dashuai, that is, Zhao Benshan's agent. The two hit it off at first sight and quickly became friends. Through Zhao Gang's introduction, Zhang Jiahao met Zhao Benshan himself.
With his wit and ruthlessness, he quickly won Zhao Benshan's trust and was hired as a bodyguard. After following Zhao Benshan for many years, Zhang Jiahao finally waited for a turning point in his life.
Zhao Benshan saw that he was loyal and decided to promote him to Benshan Media. In Benshan Media, Zhang Jiahao plays a pivotal role. As vice president, he is not only responsible for the negotiation of the artist's agency contract, but also personally participates in the investment and shooting of the show.
Whenever Benshan Media artists receive invitations to external programs, Zhang Jiahao will personally check and negotiate the appropriate appearance fee before letting the artist participate. Cheung's business methods are quite controversial.
He launched an entertainment live broadcast and commodity live broadcast business, requiring all artists to broadcast live for 8 hours a day, and 30% of the live broadcast income was used as his personal commission income. He also does not raise the salaries of artists, and encourages them to take on more dramas and variety shows to make money, so as to stimulate their commission income.
Although his approach was questioned by some as exploitation, under his operation, Benshan Media gradually grew into an entertainment kingdom. As a result, the income of the employees has increased significantly.
It is with Zhang Jiahao, a capable leader, that Benshan Media can grow and develop. Zhang Jiahao has always been loyal to Zhao Benshan and put the career of the old man Benshan in the first place.
Whenever Zhao Benshan has an important performance, Zhang Jiahao will personally lead people to take charge of security work, and always put Zhao Benshan's personal safety first. It is precisely because of Zhang Jiahao's right-hand man that Zhao Benshan can rejuvenate his second spring and create another peak in acting.
Although the outside world has questioned Zhang Jiahao's business methods, his contribution to Benshan Media is undeniable. A fledgling small company, under the careful management of Zhang Jiahao, has finally developed into a giant in the entertainment industry.
Zhang Jiahao can be said to be the head of Benshan Media and the henchman assistant of the old man of Benshan. Without his efforts, there would be no Benshan Media today. The story of Liu Xiaoguang and Xiao Shenyang sounded the alarm for newcomers in the entertainment industry, and also showed the rules of survival in this circle.
After success, it is necessary to maintain humility and not be arrogant. If you believe in your talent and succeed in the long run, you will pay a terrible price. Xiao Shenyang is a vivid example, after he became a hit in the Spring Festival Gala, he thought he could be on his own.
However, after leaving Zhao Benshan, it was difficult for him to gain a foothold in the film and television industry. He participated in many big-budget movies such as "Let the Bullets Fly" and "Journey to the West", which were not well received, and the comedy films "Havoc in Tianzhu" and "Detective Hunter Zhang" directed and acted in by him were even more dismal at the box office.
In the end, Xiao Shenyang had to return to the stage of the Spring Festival Gala, but he was unable to replicate the glory of the year and gradually faded out of the public eye. Loyalty to one's mentor is equally important. Although Zhao Benshan has never publicly accused Xiao Shenyang, he expressed his disappointment with this apprentice's floating through sarcasm and telephone persuasion in the show.
In contrast, Zhang Jiahao's loyalty to Zhao Benshan won him Zhao Benshan's trust and reuse. Liu Xiaoguang's story shows the dilemma and choice of a new star in the face of fame and fortune.
He expressed his willingness to fly solo in the live broadcast, which aroused Zhao Benshan's vigilance. Although someone offered a high price of 500 million yuan to sign him, when Zhao Benshan asked him to talk to Zhang Jiahao, Liu Xiaoguang instantly dispelled the idea of flying solo.
This choice may have deprived him of the opportunity to earn a huge income, but it may have kept the foundation for his long-term development in the entertainment industry. In this Vanity Fair, everyone is looking for their own way of survival.
But in any case, maintaining humility and gratitude may be the key to a long-term foothold in this rapidly changing entertainment industry. The story of Liu Xiaoguang and Xiao Shenyang undoubtedly provides profound inspiration for other newcomers who want to develop in the entertainment industry.