"Children of Time" is undoubtedly a major IP that has attracted much attention, and it is a major project that many first-line actors hope to participate in.
But Huang Kairen is also the kind of actor that any project desires.
The size of the IP of "Children of Time" means that it is destined to be unable to be a non-commercial project. In the current Chinese film and television market, who else can confidently say that they are more popular than Huang Kairen?
Huang Kairen has reached the top and his acting skills have always been highly recognized.
If such an actor takes the initiative to express his desire to act, even if the other party cannot make a decision immediately, he will not disappear without a response.
Lu Yanhe was very surprised.
However, Huang Kairen's inquiry seemed to be just the beginning.
The next day, a lot of news suddenly appeared on the Internet about Lu Yanhe starring in "Son of Time and Space".
Lu Yanhe was confused and took a screenshot to ask Chen Ziyan.
Chen Ziyan said that she didn't know what was going on and was contacting the production team of "Children of Time and Space".
At noon, the official of the online drama "Children of Time and Space" responded that casting has not yet started and thanked everyone for their attention.
The response was simple, actually denying the news that Lu Yanhe would be the lead actor.
As a result, this news was ridiculed by many people - many people believed that Lu Yanhe was hyping himself up and wanted to tie himself to "Children of Time and Space" to raise his own value.
Chen Ziyan had to send out screenshots of the chat history between herself and Lu Yanhe and made a clarification: We all love the story of "Children of Time and Space", so we will not deliberately "take advantage" or "hype" it.
It's an attitude.
Fortunately, at this time, the official of the online drama "Son of Time" left a message under Chen Ziyan's dynamic, saying: Ms. Chen contacted us this morning and asked if there was any intention to cooperate, so as to avoid false news that would make everyone happy. At present, it is indeed because the casting has not started yet, so no actor has been decided, so please be kind.
-
"I didn't expect that inviting Teacher Jiang to draw a cover for us would cause such a big stir." Chen Siqi was still in shock.
Lu Yanhe said, "I don't know how this rumor started."
Chen Siqi said: "Maybe some marketing accounts did it on purpose for the sake of hype."
In today's internet age, many people thrive on popularity and traffic—regardless of whether it's true or not, traffic can be monetized. Consequently, all sorts of rumors are flying around, including suspected, alleged, and according to insiders.
Lu Yanhe said: "In the past, people with high status had the right to speak, but now whoever controls the channels to express their opinions has the right to speak."
Chen Siqi was lost in thought when she heard Lu Yanhe say this.
Chen Siqi said: "I heard that some agencies have cultivated hundreds of marketing accounts."
"That's too scary. Is it specifically for controlling comments and collecting data for their artists?"
"Maybe. You guys at Xingyu must have some too."
"I've never seen it before." Lu Yanhe said, "Maybe Sister Zi Yan knows."
Chen Siqi said, "I forgot to tell you one thing. I sent you a box of postcards from 'Jump Up,' specially designed by Yilong. When you receive them, write one to Teacher Jia Long to express your gratitude. I'll give you the address then, and you can mail it to Teacher Jia Long along with the second issue of 'Jump Up.'"
Lu Yanhe knew that Chen Siqi had made this specifically for him.
"good."
What is the potential of a magazine? In this era, no one knows. Precisely because of this uncertainty, all sorts of imaginations are rampant.
After the end of the newsstand era, people now buy books and magazines almost entirely through the Internet.
After the first issue sold like hot cakes, some people actually told Chen Siqi that its popularity was short-lived, due to people's curiosity about a new thing, the effect of a few celebrities driving sales, and Yu Jiang just happened to give it a wave of popularity at the time. Under such circumstances, so far, the book has actually only sold 90,000 physical copies and 50,000 e-book copies, which means that it cannot continue to sell in the long run.
If any book has such publicity, its sales will reach at least 300,000 copies, making it a super bestseller.
But Chen Siqi remained unmoved by these criticisms. "Jump Up" was the perfect thing for her to do during her university years, and it was also the first thing she had created herself. She couldn't give up just because of these criticisms.
Chen Siqi discusses with Linyu, Xu Zijun, Xu Mingyue almost every day what kind of topics and planning can be done for the rest of this book. The key is to keep readers and to encourage more readers to read this book.
The second episode has a famous comedian like Jia Long, as well as two popular idol stars Li Zhibai and Lu Yanhe, which is actually enough.
Chen Siqi said in the editorial team group: Let’s not wait for Huang Kairen’s article, let’s save this space for "Assassination Me".
Linyu: To "Assassinate Me"? This is also a submission received from the submission mailbox. Although the novel is very good, the author is unknown. This issue we have a lot of manuscripts from new authors.
Linyu was a little worried that this would affect the sales of the second phase.
Chen Siqi said: "The readers who bought the first issue were more or less attracted by the hype. The second issue will likely see a decline in sales. We have to be mentally prepared for this. We already have three celebrity artists. If we add to that, one-third of the authors in this issue will be celebrities. If this continues, we won't be able to cultivate our own readership. When one day, we can no longer invite celebrities of this level to write for us, won't sales plummet?" So, despite the possibility of a short-term sales decline, we must also cultivate our own readership.
Linyu: Why did you reserve space for "Assassinate Me"? We have also received manuscripts from well-known writers and teachers.
Chen Siqi: Because I want to give everyone the impression that "Jump Up" is a place where we can discover new talents and cultivate writers. In the future, I also want to control this ratio. In each issue, at least one-third of the manuscripts will be from newcomers, unless the quality of the manuscripts is really not good enough.
Linyu: OK, then I understand. If that’s the case, then the manuscripts we received in our submission mailbox are really not enough. This issue has almost all been published.
Chen Siqi: I hope that after the second issue is released, it will encourage more authors to submit their works. This is just my hope. If there are really no manuscripts, of course we should not lower the quality of the manuscripts for the sake of this ratio.
-
"Jump Up" releases news about the second episode almost every few days.
When Lu Yanhe finished recording the third episode of "City Travel Notes", "Jump Up" announced that the second episode would publish Li Zhibai's first novel "Don't Be Cowardly When It's Time to Confess!"
Li Zhibai's fans were all confused.
ha?
In the first issue, Li Zhibai wrote an article to support the magazine edited by Lu Yanhe. That would have been fine, but why did he start writing novels?
The main reason was that Li Zhibai didn't seem to be a person who loved reading or writing, but now he had actually written a novel. They really didn't know how to react and always felt it was weird.
Yu Jiang also popped up at this time: This is ridiculous, they were just making magazines before, but now they are asking celebrities to write novels. Is the magazine "Jump Up" specially made to cheat fans' money?
"Jump Up" did not respond.
Zhou Ping'an's reaction was huge.
He called Li Zhibai, who was filming on the set, and asked, "Why did you write something for them again? You know they're being mocked online right now?"
Li Zhibai had no idea what Zhou Pingan was talking about. He just complained, "What are you talking about? I'm about to start filming. Don't bother me unless it's something serious."
After saying that, he hung up the phone.
Zhou Pingan was furious. However, Li Zhibai was just like this, he was used to it and there was nothing he could do about it.
Although he hung up Zhou Ping'an without saying anything, Li Zhibai still checked online and found out what was going on.
Seeing many people questioning him, he was speechless and posted a dynamic: What's wrong with celebrities? Celebrities can't write novels? How high is the threshold for writing novels?
As soon as the update was posted, he threw his phone aside and was summoned by the director to go filming.
Li Zhibai was not fully prepared for this role that he took on at the last minute. However, he was too lazy to prepare and just went with the feeling on the spot. As a result, the director thought he acted very well.
Li Zhibai didn't know where the good news came from, but since it was said, he naturally accepted it. He never wastes himself internally.
As a result, when he remembered to check his phone, his update had become a trending topic.
There is another hot search term: Li Zhibai is ignorant of the immensity of the world.
Some people, led by Yu Jiang, bluntly said that they were insulted by Li Zhibai's words.
Yu Jiang blasted Li Zhibai: How low is the threshold for writing novels? Can you just write something casually and call it a novel?
The comments from other people all had almost the same meaning, pointing out that Li Zhibai did not respect creation and did not respect novelists.
Li Zhibai was dumbfounded, and at the same time, a sentence popped up in his head: Is it really that serious?
Looking again, Zhou Ping'an had three missed calls on his phone.
Li Zhibai was very upset.
It's not just one or two days that Li Zhibai is prone to saying the wrong thing, and he is often scolded for it.
Li Zhibai was quite carefree and unconcerned, like a dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water, and did not care about being scolded.
However, he did not want his remarks to affect "Jump Up".
After a moment of hesitation, he offered a rare apology, saying, "I said the wrong thing. Stand at attention and take the blame. I apologize to everyone offended by my inappropriate remarks." To clarify, my previous post didn't mean I thought the bar for writing novels was low, or that anyone could write. I was simply provoked by some people mocking my novel-writing career, which is why I made that statement. I think everyone has the right to write a novel, right? Even though I'm an entertainer, I also have a dream of writing a novel, so that's fine with me.
-
"It's really not easy. It's rare to see Li Zhibai apologize."
Lu Qingzhen has worked in the company for so many years and often sees Li Zhibai making headlines for saying the wrong thing, but rarely sees Li Zhibai apologize.
Chen Ziyan: "He saw that the situation had become a bit serious and didn't want to affect 'Jump Up'."
Lu Qingzhen glanced at Chen Ziyan with a smile and said, "Wouldn't it have been better if you had chosen him to be your mentor?"
"Not suitable." Chen Ziyan shook her head. "He's the typical troublemaker. His manager can't control him. Although he has good intentions and good character, he's a troublemaker. If I really took him, we'd still have a small argument every three days and a big one every five days. Even though Zhou Ping'an and him have many conflicts and fights, he's actually someone who can tolerate his temper."
"Why do you say that?"
"Li Zhibai disobeyed discipline. Zhou Pingan looked tough, but in reality, he never confronted Li Zhibai head-on. He was somewhat wary of his family background and how popular he was. Zhou Pingan was best at reading people's minds and acting accordingly. I'm not that good at that. I can pretend for a while, but not forever."
"Haha, I don't know whether you are praising Zhou Ping'an or mocking him."
"I'm praising him on this matter." Chen Ziyan smiled. "He still has his merits."
"That's true. Look at Ma Zhiyuan. He had such a big fight with him before, but now he's slowly getting under his control," Lu Qingzhen said. "I'm really impressed by this. Ma Zhiyuan, this troublemaker, is no easier to deal with than Li Zhibai, but Zhou Ping'an has a way."
"Is Ma Zhiyuan causing trouble again?"
"Is there ever a day when he doesn't make a scene?" Lu Qingzhen rolled her eyes. "I originally helped him negotiate a deal to become the Asia-Pacific spokesperson for a top luxury brand's branch line, but he refused, insisting he either wanted to be the global spokesperson or the full line spokesperson. I really wanted to throw a cup of coffee in his face. He was completely out of his mind, talking nonsense. And then Zhou Ping'an dealt with him."
Chen Ziyan shook her head. "That's true! If he doesn't change his personality, he'll suffer a great loss sooner or later and fall flat on his face."
Lu Qingzhen: "We all said that. By the way, Xiao Lu has received a lot of business requests recently. Are you still not willing to take them?"
Chen Ziyan said: "Except for big brands, we don't accept any fast-moving consumer goods. There is no need to consume them."
Lu Qingzhen said, "The big brands have basically been divided up by various celebrities. If we don't do endorsement cooperation, just business cooperation, it's not worthy of Lu Yanhe's status. We can only wait until the endorsement contract expires and then consider Xiao Lu. We can fight for it then. But Xiao Lu's lack of works is a major flaw."
"It doesn't matter, the work will be here soon," said Chen Ziyan.
She looked down at the time and said, "No, I have to go. I have an appointment."
"Okay, let's talk next time." Lu Qingzhen nodded and returned to the company.
Chen Ziyan moved to a nearby bookstore.
Arriving ten minutes early, she browsed the bookstore first and saw a book called "I'm a Tutor on the Upper East Side." She thought it was interesting, so she went to check out. Just then, she ran into two girls in school uniforms who asked, "Boss, do you still have 'Jump Up'?"
The boss said, “Yes, it’s right there.”
The two girls showed relieved expressions on their faces and walked away happily.
Chen Ziyan was a little surprised and asked, "Is 'Jump Up' still selling so well?"
"It's selling OK. Although it's not as popular as it was at the beginning, people are buying it every day." The cashier glanced at the book in Chen Ziyan's hand and asked, "Your copy has also received a lot of buyers."
"Oh, really? I was just browsing the bookshelf and thought I'd buy one." Chen Ziyan handed her the checkout. "And please order me an American coffee."
"OK."
Chen Ziyan went to the rest area and found a seat by the window.
Tear off the plastic cover and read while waiting for someone.
After a while, Liu Bige came.
"Hi." Liu Bige greeted her.
Chen Ziyan stood up, shook his hand, and said, "What would you like to drink?"
Liu Bige: "I just had coffee, no thanks."
Liu Bige sat down opposite Chen Ziyan.
"I've heard of your great name for a long time." said Liu Bigo.
Chen Ziyan smiled and waved her hand, "Producer Liu returned to China last year?"
"Yes." Liu Bige nodded.
Chen Ziyan said, "Shang Yongzhou told me that he met you when he was attending a film festival in France, right?"
Liu Bige nodded and laughed, "Do you know Shang Yongzhou too?"
"I used to be his manager," Chen Ziyan explained. "Unfortunately, I was supposed to accompany him on those trips to France, but due to various unforeseen circumstances, we didn't make it. Otherwise, we would have known each other a long time ago."
"I was just a filming assistant there," Liu Bige said. "It's not too late to meet now. It's fate. And now we met again because of Lu Yanhe."
"Yes, Yan He told me that you sent him a script. I was quite surprised. I have to admit that Yan He is not very well-recognized as an actor right now. After all, he hasn't released any works yet."
Liu Bige said: "I met him by chance and thought he was a good match."
"I heard that you want to adapt a novel by his classmate?"
"Yes, we've pretty much finished the discussion over the past two days," Liu Bige said. "'Miss Ning' isn't a project I'm leading. It's the work of my friend He Han. But since we wrote the script together, I'm helping him with it. I've already sent Lu Yanhe's materials to him; he's still in France."
Chen Ziyan nodded and asked, "Are you planning to release this movie in the country?"
"Of course, we're making a Chinese-language film, not an English-language one," Liu Bige said. "I'm currently working at Longyan Pictures. If nothing unexpected happens, Longyan Pictures will be responsible for both domestic investment and distribution."
"Oh, really? That's quite a coincidence! I happen to be friends with both Mr. and Mrs. Huang." Chen Ziyan smiled pleasantly. "But this kind of independent film isn't usually what Long Yan makes. Are you starting to pay attention to this genre now?"
Liu Bige said: "It is mainly because of the impact of global streaming media on the traditional film and television industry. Longyan Film is also preparing to produce corresponding content for international streaming media. So they found me and are willing to help me produce independent films."
For a film like "Miss Ning," unless it wins a major award, it's difficult to recoup its costs through theatrical release. This is also true overseas, where profits previously relied primarily on copyrights from various countries. Now, the advent of streaming media has created a niche for many arthouse films, but the gameplay of streaming differs from that of theatrical box office.
"But actually, it's not really an independent film," Liu Bige added. "The term 'independent film' is meant to distinguish it from the producer system of major film companies. Or, to be more accurate, 'auteur-directed films.' After all, Longyan Pictures can't be called an independent film production company."
"Yes." Chen Ziyan nodded. "Is 'Miss Ning' planning to release it on streaming media overseas?"
Liu Bige nodded and said, "Except for our country and a few specific regions in France, other regions should release it on streaming media. Otherwise, there will definitely be no streaming media willing to provide production funding."
"Didn't you ask Long Yan to provide it?"
"We can't rely on them to provide everything," Liu Bige said. "On the one hand, relying entirely on Longyan would be risky. Although the film's production cost won't be high, it will still cost tens of millions. On the other hand, we want to attract investment from a strong overseas streaming media company, which will also help us promote the film overseas."
Chen Ziyan understood the difference and nodded.
"Has the female lead been decided?" Chen Ziyan asked.
Liu Bige shook his head and said, "Not yet. I'm still looking."
Chen Ziyan said: "Will there be auditions? Or?"
Liu Bige said: "If we still can't find the right person, we will organize an audition."
Chen Ziyan said: "After listening to Yan He's introduction to the script, I think the other actress I brought with me is suitable. If you are interested, you can take a look at her."
Liu Bigo was a little surprised.
He didn't expect that Chen Ziyan actually recommended an actor to him today.
"Wen Minglan, you may have seen news about her online," Chen Ziyan said. "Please believe me, those online rumors about her being unprofessional are absolutely false."
Liu Bigo had indeed heard of this name.
"Okay, then I'll go back and look at her information," he said.
Chen Ziyan directly took out a USB drive and said, "This contains her information, including a collection of her past performances."
Liu Bige was shocked. "It really is the agent."
Chen Ziyan: "There is no other way. For the sake of my own actors, I must be ready to recommend her to you at any time."
Liu Bige asked curiously, "Does Yan He also have such information?"
Chen Ziyan nodded: "Yes, although Yan He has not yet officially released any works, he has already filmed a movie called "The Golden Age". I also asked the crew for some materials and made a dossier."
Liu Bige asked, "Can I have a copy? I also need to introduce Lu Yanhe to He Han."
Chen Ziyan: "Of course."
-
In response to the accusations against Wen Minglan in "Sanchakou", Chen Ziyan only responded with four words: nonsense.
At the same time, at this time, many online forums have revealed some revelations about the current filming status of the "Sanchakou" crew.
For example, the wages of extras were in arrears, the shooting site was very chaotic, the management was very poor, and the efficiency was low.
These news may be true or false, but they have caused considerable trouble to "Sanchakou".
For example, the investors of this drama are Icefield Video and Explorers Pictures.
Because of the recent controversy caused by this drama, the stock prices of two listed companies, Icefield Video and Explorers Pictures, have also been greatly affected.
They sent investigators to the crew.
This investigation did reveal some problems - it is impossible for any crew to be without problems.
But this issue has a bit of a "don't air dirty laundry in public" vibe. Many of the crew's expenses were clearly flawed. For example, a pair of gloves for the lead actress cost an astonishing 24,000 yuan. This is just one example; many other aspects reveal that the crew pocketed significant amounts of funds.
Funding is a big problem, and worse problems have also been discovered. Many people have reported that the director is not on the scene most of the time, and many scenes are shot by the assistant director. So far, the shooting progress is far below expectations. It is estimated that if the filming of this drama is to be completed normally, at least an additional investment of 30 million will be required.
Upon learning of these problems, both Icefield Video and Explorer Films were shocked. Many directors fiddle with projects and frantically cash in, a common occurrence in the industry, but for "Forking Crossroads" to have reached such a state is truly rare. If the Wen Minglan incident hadn't erupted, prompting an investigation into the production, these problems might not have been discovered until mid-to-late production, when funding was running low and they began asking for additional funding. By then, with hundreds of millions already invested, how could they possibly not add an additional 30 million? Wouldn't that just leave the project to rot? Often, investors find themselves in this difficult position, forced to add funds despite the frustration.
Just when many people on the Internet were arguing about the dispute between Wen Minglan and the crew of "Sanchakou", Icefield Video and Explorers Pictures suddenly issued a joint statement that the producer and director of the project would be replaced due to improper management of the "Sanchakou" crew, causing an uproar on the entire Internet.
-
"Is Chen Ziyan's power so terrifying?" Even Meng Li was stunned after seeing the news. "She actually replaced both the producer and the director directly."
Meng Li's agent, Li Xia, immediately shook her head and said, "No matter how powerful she is, she can't just replace the producer and director of a project with an investment of hundreds of millions. Wen Minglan has already left the crew. There must be something wrong with the project itself. Otherwise, Icefield Video and Explorer Pictures wouldn't do such a thing as cutting off their own arms. They've been filming for over a month, and now they're suddenly changing the producer and director."
"What could have gone wrong?" Meng Li asked.
"Who knows? Maybe she embezzled the funds." Li Xia was clearly well aware of the twists and turns in the film and television industry. "Zhou Lina is going to be laughed at now."
-
The conversation between Meng Li and Li Xia is just a microcosm of the film and television industry's response to this matter.
Almost no one doesn't know about "Three Crossroads".
In this industry, there are no impenetrable walls, and the news that the producer and director of "Sanchakou" embezzled production funds soon became known.
Chen Ziyan and Lu Yanhe found out almost at the same time.
The reason why Lu Yanhe knew about it almost at the same time as Chen Ziyan was because of Liu Bige.
Liu Bige came to find Lu Yanhe, and it happened that Liu Bige heard about this and told him.
Liu Bige said: "It's really amazing. It is said that the two of them swallowed 30 million in one go."
"So much?" Lu Yanhe's eyes widened in disbelief. "That's right. Not only is the cost outrageous, but it seems they also signed a shady contract with Zhou Lina's agent. By falsely reporting the film's salary to Icefield Video and Explorer Pictures, the three of them split a total of 15 million yuan. Zhou Lina herself was kept in the dark."
Lu Yanhe was shocked.
"Tsk tsk." Liu Bigo sighed, "They still know how to have fun."
Lu Yanhe asked: "What should we do in this situation?"
"We'll force them to pay back the money, or we'll call the police," Liu Bige said. "If we haven't discovered this, it's fine. But if we do, and they don't return the money, we'll use all sorts of methods, whether they're being shady or not."
This was the first time Lu Yanhe heard of such a thing and he was a little surprised.
Liu Bige: "I guess they must hate Wen Minglan to death. If it weren't for Wen Minglan's matter, they wouldn't have exposed these things."
"How come they swallowed so much money and won't expose it?"
"It's easy to do the accounting for such a large crew. If they do it right and the show is made, who can hold them accountable?" Liu Bige said, "Domestic film and television projects really don't lack money. As long as the project can be made, it's likely to make money. It's not a movie. Movies are priced at the box office, but TV series are a completely different game." (End of this chapter)
