ABC refused to air CSI?
This answer was somewhat unexpected. When Alexander told Levi the news, Levi was so shocked that he couldn't speak: the review show in May hadn't arrived yet; why was the TV series rejected?
"The quality of our TV series is not good?" Levi's face immediately became gloomy when he heard this sentence. After working hard for so long, how could it become unplayable in the end?
"There is no problem with the quality of the TV series." Alexander immediately answered.
"So, is it because the reviews are bad, or the advertising market is not responding enthusiastically?" Immediately, Levi thought of the following two possibilities.
"No, the reviews are good, and the advertisers haven't watched yet. Our TV series was rejected internally—the ABC people directly rejected our TV series without considering the market." This answer made Levi horrified: what is this? Has the TV series been rejected before it can be screened? What does internal veto mean? Have to give a reason.
"ABC believes that this drama is a bit...too adult. From the tone to the plot, it is too adult, and too many places need to use their brains. They think it is not suitable for broadcasting." Seeing Levi, Alexander immediately explained his dissatisfaction.
"That's why they won't show it? We're filming crime dramas, so shouldn't crime dramas be fresh and bright? Besides, if crime dramas are full of idiots, can they still be watched?"
"Because of this, they no longer want to continue investing in filming. Nick, don't worry. Actually, I've already inquired about this matter. There is very little room for redemption. The person who denied our TV series is Michael Eisner."
This name; Let Levi think of something in an instant: Michael Eisner, the current CEO of Disney, is also Disney's most affluent and influential actual power holder. Last year, he was the one who bought ABC TV station, and he was the one who wanted to develop ABC TV station.
"I didn't provoke him; why did he veto my TV series?" Levi asked, a little puzzled.
"You didn't provoke him, but the TV series CSI provoked Michael Eisner." Alexander's words made Levi suddenly understand something: he realized why Eisner would reject his TV series.
His TV series is too different.
American dramas in the 90s all have a very special style: they all like to use golden orange filters, making the overall effect look warm. This differs greatly from the natural light effects of American dramas in the 1980s and quite different from the increasingly cool-toned style after the new century.
When Levi was filming this drama, the use of color tones was even more biased towards the use of cool tones, which made the style of the entire TV series darker, which was very different from the overall style of the 90s. Moreover, the editing of Levi's TV series is quite sharp, and the music style and the overall plot are also quite gloomy. Unlike most TV dramas that solve crimes like gods, in this TV series, in the first episode of the case, some of the protagonists made mistakes in judgment and let the prisoner escape; some delayed the case because of gambling, and some simply because the criminal was beautiful, let her go, and the last one who was thought to be the protagonist was shot dead directly... This style is really different from the previous TV dramas. When Levi created a TV series, he wanted to make a radical change in the style of the TV series, but he ignored that the reviewers were ABC, Disney, and Michael Eisner. Eisner was clearly quite successful as the Walt Disney Company's CEO for a decade. After Disney was handed over to him, the income has been rolling forward, unmatched by any major film company. However, although Eisner has made many contributions to Disney, he also has some big problems: when selecting works, he has always adhered to his three principles.
Over the years, Disney has been adhering to Eisner's three concepts: the all-age strategy, the strategy of replicating success, and the Bruckheimer model. Levi initially thought that these three ideas were only implemented by Disney in the film industry, but he did not expect that Disney would extend this idea to the television industry as well.
They like works that everyone can watch, and they don't like those that have to be watched with restrictions. In fact, these three concepts are easy to understand: the so-called all-age stage means not shooting those movies with heavy tastes and viewing age restrictions, and all movie ratings cannot exceed PG13. In fact, Disney's first PG-13 movie is "The Pirates of the Caribbean" in the future.
The success of copying means that when they shoot movies and TV shows, they prefer to copy the old model of those works that have already been successful. Disney's strategy is to be conservative and not reap the enviable benefits of innovation but to ensure that it does not lose money. If there is too much innovation in the work, they will not consider using it.
And the last one, the so-called Bruckheimer model, is the story of the most heroic protagonist. The protagonist, who is a bit ruffian and has a rogue personality, is more attractive than the average hero, which is also the type that Disney prefers. Until the Pirates of the Caribbean, they are still using this set.
There is nothing wrong with these concepts; at least Eisner relied on them to develop his own Disney company. Eisner didn't notice that Disney's cartoon market is the most suitable scope for these three theories.
Only in the cartoon market, copying classics and subversive heroes for all ages will make people feel fresh. This kind of thinking may not be so good for live-action movies. The full age range of film and television works must be suitable for children. It is difficult for adults to like such works. However, the output of film and television works is much larger than that of cartoons, and superheroes have been poorly used. At least two of his ideas are not suitable for this market.
Levi complained in his heart that this concept is outdated: Even in the cartoon market, it is hard to say whether this theory can hold water now: To implement Eisner's approach of copying classics, Disney gave up the 3D animation market. As a result, Pixar took the lead in this area. Now their situation is very passive.
Show a group of conservative guys a TV series with a radical reform plan; of course, they will not accept it. Especially a group of guys who have been making cartoons for many years; let them review the TV series of dissecting corpses. It's no wonder they did not like it. But now, Eisner still holds the power of ABC and even Disney.
"Originally, Disney thought that what you wanted to shoot was a TV series similar to Law and Order. They wanted to see if the market could recognize the TV series you shot. But after your TV series was shot, it just happened to catch up with Eisner to promote his three ideas on ABC, and our TV series ran into his hands, so naturally, there was no good result. Before the screening, their internal test screenings were already rejected. They told me that ABC would not consider broadcasting such a TV series, no matter how good it is. ABC is a big TV station with its own philosophy, and will not broadcast such dark and obscure TV series."
In Eisner's view, one's authority is much more important than the life and death of a TV series. In the past two years, due to a series of wrong decisions within Disney, Pixar has surpassed Disney in the animation market. 3D animation has defeated 2D animation. Eisner's voice and status have declined. Even on the board of directors, people are already discussing of changing the CEO. These discussions made Eisner very dissatisfied. He is not a person who admits defeat easily. He knows he must defeat those who talk about him behind his back. The best way is to prove that his theory still has a big market. The cartoon market is a technical problem, and he can't win it back in a short while, so he will naturally not give up on the new battlefield of ABC.
At this time, CSI bumped into it by himself, and it was simply courting death. Eisner finally caught a work that violated all three principles and rejected it immediately. Ten million is nothing to ABC—even if they lose more than 300 million a year, it's a piece of cake for Disney. To Eisner, losing such a small amount of money to build their prestige seemed like a good fit.
Levi was silent. If the TV series they filmed is not good enough, then it is their problem, but this is not their problem; it is because others don't like it, negates all their efforts, and this is too hard to accept.
Could all his efforts be in vain just because of a bastard?
"They can't possibly like our work. Disney hasn't even made a PG-13 movie. How can they like something like this?" Alexander sighed, but his sigh was that something was too late. "There are too many; just follow the path of the predecessors; there is no need to try it yourself. A detective with a charismatic personality and a beautiful woman can solve a case of bizarre murder while messing around. The means of solving the case is not important; even if you rely on special functions or voodoo to solve the case, this is a TV series. It doesn't matter if there are problems in the story. Actual detective films are not suitable for acting as crime dramas. No one wants to use their brains, and no one wants to watch reality. Isn't it tiring to watch one's own life?"
"It can be compromised," Levi snorted coldly, "but it is impossible to become a classic no matter how you shoot something cool. Everyone can like superficial dramas that follow the trend but can never become classics. Trends will always pass, and classics will stay classic for a long time. Our goal is not to be mediocre, and it's best never to have the idea of following other people's patterns."
"But now, if we don't follow other people's path, we will have nowhere to go."
"I'm afraid it may not be...Alex, if we want to buy the TV series from ABC first and sell them to others, do you think it's feasible?"
*****
You can read advanced chapters on my Patreon account: https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816