Huayu: I'm being coveted by young actresses.

Chapter 42: Drifting through half a lifetime, never encountering a wise ruler

"Xiao Gu, you've wrapped up filming." Nazha presented him with specially selected flowers as a congratulatory gift for the completion of filming.

"Thank you, Senior Naza."

Today is also the first day since the two broke up.

"Junior Brother Gu, see you next time. May our friendship endure as long as the mountains and rivers remain unchanged."

She still couldn't accept Gu Luojin's bad side, and her junior classmate Meng Ziyi was also waiting for him with a predatory look on her face.

Jeanne believes that their relationship will not last long, and that a short, sharp pain is worse than a long, drawn-out one.

"Okay, be careful on your way back."

Both of their eyes were filled with tears, but they didn't shed a tear, each wanting to leave the other with their best image.

"Sis, it's almost time to board, let's go."

Naza, who had just walked out the door, turned back again.

"Make sure your collar is neatly straightened; don't let it affect your appearance."

"I'll give you one last kiss, that's what it means to finish what you started."

Upon hearing this, Gu Luojin couldn't help but burst out laughing, instantly shattering the somber atmosphere.

"You're really leaving this time, and you won't be coming back. Have you memorized the code to my apartment?"

"I've remembered, it's your birthday and mine combined."

Naza left the two with a way out, without cutting off their communication. She even changed the door lock code to their birthdays.

"Sis, let's go! We're really going to miss it!"

There's only one hour left before boarding, and it will take another 20 minutes to get to the airport.

As a junior assistant, she only has the right to offer suggestions, not the right to human rights.

Gu Luojin was planning to leave with Nazha, but because she needed to copy materials, she was delayed for a day.

"Director Wu, I'd like to offer you a toast."

"Xiao Gu, if there's a good drama or a good role, I'll definitely save it for you. Quickly, help me out by drinking some more alcohol."

These are the "truths" that Wu Bai said after Gu Luojin got him drunk by the crew members.

"Angkor, I've remembered what you said."

……

The next afternoon, Gu Luojin rushed back to the company with the materials. Wang Lu was supposed to pick him up, but she was nowhere to be found.

Where have you been?

"Brother Gu, I'm in Boss Wang's office. Boss Wang wants you to come over."

"OK."

Gu Luojin went downstairs to buy a fruit basket, and together with the flowers Nazha gave him, he made up for the missed visit last time.

He walked into Wang Juan's office carrying a fruit basket and flowers.

"Oh, our male lead even brought a gift. Did he do something wrong this time?"

"I'm here to thank Mr. Wang for his help."

The male lead was given to him, and he also used his connections to obtain the material.

"You came with just a fruit basket? Don't you think it's shabby?"

He wanted to, but the three major music platforms hadn't settled the fees for "The Wind Rises," and he didn't have the money.

As for his salary for "The Big Shot," as a rising star, he wasn't paid much; the company took a cut.

He took on this role mainly because he valued the character's versatility, representativeness, and the male lead's billing.

"I'm broke, Mr. Wang."

As a senior executive in the company and Gu Luojin's direct supervisor, she knew that he had invested money in boosting the song charts.

Gu Luojin bought the fruit basket simply to plead poverty and ask her for resources.

"Alright, alright. I have two male leads for web series, do you want them?"

Before the mask incident, web dramas were not taken seriously by people in the industry, and some even looked down on them.

At this time, most celebrities in the industry are unwilling to go down to the lower end of the market and are still fighting tooth and nail for roles in movies and TV series produced by the three major platforms.

It wasn't until the mask incident that many capital firms went bankrupt and hot money withdrew.

On the one hand, traditional TV dramas have long review and filming times, and after filming, a TV station has to buy your script and then you have to wait in line to broadcast it.

On the other hand, due to the rapid development of society, entertainment options have become more diverse.

Young people, who are the main consumers of film and television, do not need to sit in front of the TV every day to watch TV dramas as a daily entertainment activity.

People can use new information carriers such as mobile phones, tablets, and computers to watch short videos, read comics, and read novels as a form of daily entertainment.

If television viewership is diverted, then ratings will inevitably decline, and the investment from broadcasters will decrease.

According to the principle of compensation for losses, some of the GG merchants that disappear will reappear in another area where attention is focused.

This group of GG merchants were attracted by the self-produced web dramas of the three major platforms and invested their funds in web dramas.

The decline of television dramas was exacerbated by the special historical juncture, and the massive spending of over 100 billion yuan by the three major platforms had a huge driving force for a period of time.

As a self-produced platform for online dramas, its review efficiency, casting efficiency, and subject matter diversity are all superior to those of traditional TV drama production.

The three major platforms also control many video production companies in the industry and control the source of copyrights.

In this respect, neither pants nor kiwis are as good as penguins, which are much larger.

Among the three platforms, Penguin Video, backed by Tencent, possesses strong financial resources and the ability to generate its own revenue.

They have their own novel copyright website, so there's no need to worry about a lack of good film and television adaptations. They also have their own music platform and the two social media apps with the largest number of users nationwide.

Even many film and television companies in the industry are developing with the backing of Tencent.

There are countless film and television companies that rely on the three major platforms for their livelihood, and most of the young artists signed by these companies join the self-produced dramas of the three major platforms.

This has led fans who like these artists to spend more time and money on the three major platforms.

Television can be said to be out of step with the times, which in turn has accelerated the decline of TV dramas.

Just as celebrities were getting used to the development model of web dramas, video platforms updated their development model again—short dramas.

Just as actors in TV dramas used to look down on actors in web dramas, now stars in web dramas look down on actors in short dramas.

Many has-been celebrities are still choosing to enter the short drama market, but whether this will become the next hot trend remains to be seen.

He knew that web dramas were the future trend, so he decided to take advantage of the fact that others didn't care about or pay attention to them, and secure his entry ticket by building good relationships with the three major platforms.

In his previous life, Zhang Ruoyun became the go-to male lead for major TV dramas on three platforms, all thanks to Tencent's web dramas.

He can't steal the title of a box office king with 10 billion yuan in earnings, but he has a very high probability of becoming the new king of web dramas.

In the future, the male-oriented online novel market will be booming, and everyone will be offering cigarettes to Emperor Jin.

They're acting, specifically in web series.

"I want it, but can I see the script first?"

"Can."

Mr. Wang stylishly pulled two scripts from his drawer and placed them on the table.

"Take a look at both scripts and choose one."

The first script he opened was "Si Teng," which brought back memories of his past.

He watched "Sito" at the time, but didn't remember the plot.

I remember that Jing Tian wore fifty-six different cheongsams. I was captivated by the charm and elegance she exuded. She is truly a walking cheongsam hanger.

However, Jing Tian's acting career is not very successful, and she doesn't even have a representative work or a famous classic film and television role.

That year, when Da Tian Tian was a sophomore in college, she released an EP called "Who Are You" as soon as she debuted.

The music producer was still Zhang Yadong, while the director of the music video for the main song was Ning Hao, who was already somewhat famous at the time.

He served as the producer for the diva Princess for five consecutive years, and thereafter he was responsible for producing, composing, and arranging music for every album of Princess's.

After two years of tireless collaboration, they helped Pu Shu release his first solo album, "I'm Going to 2000," and in 2004, they created another excellent album for him, "Life is Like Summer Flowers."

He is also the brother-in-law of Dou Wei, a prominent figure in the rock music scene, and has a great influence in the music industry.

In the same year, she also starred in a horror film called "Anaconda" with two veteran actors from the Hong Kong film industry, Lau Ka-Chun and Eight-Taels-of-Gold, playing the female lead.

She landed the lead role in a movie right after starting university; in today's terms, that's what you call a "resource-backed star."

Her classmates include the top-tier idol, Shuangzi, who earns 208 million a day, and Kan Qingzi, who has loved both the sea and you.

That same year, she also became a spokesperson for the Northwest Cherry Association and was received by the Governor of Washington State, effectively making music, performance, and GG her spokespeople.

These three elements of a celebrity's dream were all fulfilled in her freshman year of college; such good fortune can only be explained by the protagonist's halo.

After that, with her halo shining brightly, Jing Tian continued her unparalleled and triumphant advance in the hellish world of entertainment.

In 08, she played the second female lead in the TV series "An Epic of a Woman," starring Xiao Yanzi and Liu Ye, which was a way for her to hone her skills and gain experience under the guidance of her seniors.

A year later, she acted opposite the tough guy Zhang Fengyi and became the female lead in "The Legend of Sun Tzu", her first time challenging the role of a leading lady in an ancient costume drama.

After that, she starred in the blockbuster "The Warring States," which is still ridiculed to this day.

Because this film not only invited Sun Honglei and My Temper Is Very Strong to act alongside Jing Tian.

Moreover, even Kim Hee-sun, the South Korean goddess at the time, came to play a supporting role for Jing Tian for the sake of money.

Many media outlets have said that this film should not be called "The Warring States Period," but rather "Jing Tian."

Unable to bear the criticism, Sun Honglei returned the extra salary he had received to the investors. He not only got a free role but also earned a bad reputation.

After that, Jing Tian continued to secure her position as the leading lady in one drama after another.

The male and female actors she co-starred with gradually expanded from mainland Chinese stars to those from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

From Fok Kin-wah to Cecilia Cheung, and then to Ip Man, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun-fat, and Tse Ting-fung.

Later, Jing Tian even flew to Hollywood, and the people she acted with all became Oscar-level Hollywood stars, such as Matt Damon, Tom Hiddleston, and Captain Marvel Brie Larson.

She also became the nominal female lead in Zhang Yimou's "The Great Wall", and played a significant role as the second female lead in "Pacific Rim 2" and "Kong: Skull Island".

It's worth noting that back then, even top actresses like Fan Bingbing and Zhou Xun could only get roles that weren't very memorable in Hollywood.

If Li Bingbing hadn't played Ada Wong in "Resident Evil," she would probably be similar to Zhou and Fan, while these actors at least have some notable representative works or experience.

It's truly baffling that Jing Tian, ​​with such a rich acting career and so many leading roles in high-profile productions, hasn't become a breakout star.

Even Song, who has an average appearance and a slender figure, has become a minor celebrity thanks to the resources she has received.

The public's impression of her is that she has poor box office performance, cannot carry a film, lacks audience appeal, and is a "resource-backed" actress.

If these enviable resources were given to Yang Mi or Liu Yifei at the same time, they would probably have achieved the same status as Zhang Ziyi back then.

She became the highest mountain and the longest river for female celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry.

Regarding Jing Tian's current career situation, a talented netizen composed a jingle that perfectly describes it.

Nan Yihuan, Bei Jingtian, and Zhuang Xinyan, who couldn't become famous.

Jing Tian is among them, as if she has nothing to do with fame.

So she humbled herself and moved down to web dramas, becoming the first female star among the post-85 actresses to experience a drop in resources.

Seeing Gu Luojin's eyes light up, Wang Juan already knew he would be in the role.

"How's the script?"

"This script is good, I like it."

Wang Juan knew the inside story about how he found a girlfriend as soon as he joined the film crew.

Seeing that he hadn't turned more than a few pages after looking at it for so long, she wondered if he had taken a liking to the script. She didn't want to point it out to him.

That's not liking someone, that's clearly having a crush on the female lead, that's despicable.

If it weren't for his ambitious attitude towards his career and his appropriate and tactful handling of relationships, she would have started to put him on the defensive long ago.

"However, this leading lady just can't become famous, so you should be prepared."

For most people, acting alongside Jing Tian would be a curse, but for him, it was pure bliss.

He was already prepared to lead this group of actresses born in the 85s to rebuild their former glory, and it is our duty to do so.

"Read the other one too, then tell me the result."

He understood the principle that you can't bite off more than you can chew.

"No need."

"Let's watch it together."

Okay, at Wang Juan's insistence, he opened a second script, "So Lovely Us," and starred Tian Xiwei.

Is this the sweet girl Tian Xiwei that he knows? But there aren't many people in the Chinese entertainment industry with that name.

This put him in a stalemate. In terms of quality, "Sito" was an A-level project, but it aired with the popularity of an S-level project, once winning the number one spot in online popularity, and had great staying power.

In the annual statistics of effective views of all episodes on Yunhe, "Si Teng" ranked fifth, with the top four being hit dramas such as "My Son-in-Law", "Sweeping Black Storm", "You Are My Glory", and "One Life, One Love".

This is enough to prove that the quality of "Si Teng" is completely up to standard, and it is an important part of his becoming the king of web dramas.

Although "So Cute Us" is a lighthearted campus romance drama, it has already broken the record for the most popular drama on iQiyi in less than a week, previously held by the sweet historical romance drama "Young Master, Please Slow Down".

It carved out a niche for itself among a sea of ​​sweet romance novels.

Most importantly, it has a time advantage over "Sito".

"Sito" was filmed in August 2019, but it was not broadcast until March 2021.

"So Cute Us" was filmed in November 2019 and aired in January 2020.

For a newcomer, time is very important. Once these celebrities have all come down to earth to film web dramas, his first-mover advantage will be gone.

But he couldn't bear to part with "Sito," which had an S-level popularity that few dramas could achieve even 25 years later.

What a difficult choice! The dilemma of not being able to have your cake and eat it too has now been presented to him.

"Sis, I want both of them."

"Impossible. Aren't you worried about overeating yourself?"

"Sister, being able to eat is a blessing."

Good resources are obtained only through behind-the-scenes exchanges of benefits between companies, which is why actors need to be backed by powerful film and television companies.

SNH48, the group behind the "4000-year beauty," is unreliable and unprofessional. Not only do her rivals want to prevent her from becoming a huge star, but her own company also actively tries to prevent her from becoming famous and leaving after her contract is terminated.

This is a case of inflicting 800 damage on the enemy while losing 1000 damage to oneself.

It's not that he couldn't get it, but that he didn't offer enough benefits in exchange.

"Sister, tell me, what conditions must be met to obtain these two resources?"

"Ahem, you said it yourself, I didn't force you."

She didn't force him, but she came up with a new trick: enticing him with bribes.

"There are more than ten commercial performance events coming up recently. You can handle them. I'll give Xiaolu the list later."

Running commercial performances is not only easy, but he also earns money.

For a moment, Gu Luojin didn't know how to repay Sister Wang, and he cried himself to death.

Resources were first thought of giving him, knowing he had no money, so even lucrative jobs like commercial gigs were offered to him under various pretexts.

I admire him so much. Everyone says that when you meet a benefactor, your career will be twice as successful with half the effort.

He wanted to emulate Lü Bu. Jin had been wandering for half his life, only regretting that he had not met a wise ruler. If Sister Wang did not abandon him, Jin was willing to become her sworn sister.

With my sworn sister above me, I, your younger brother, will follow you from this day forward, going through fire and water without hesitation, to help you achieve great things together.

"Don't thank me, you earned this through your own hard work."

……

"Sis, what happened to the news you mentioned before, which was neither good nor bad?"

"Tencent has a variety show called 'Super3: Star Arena' that needs people, and I've decided to send you there."

I was just thinking I had no chance to repay this kindness, and here it is.

"Sis, I'll go."

He didn't want to ask too many questions, lest Wang Juan think he didn't know how to repay kindness.

It's just a variety show. No other variety show can compare to "Back to Field." He was able to leave "Back to Field" unscathed, so he shouldn't have much of a problem with other variety shows.

"I haven't finished speaking yet."

"I'm not going to say anything more, sis. From now on, my problems are your problems, and your problems are still your problems."

"?"

Wang Lu was furious; she suddenly had a relative who was better at flattering her than she was.

Gu Luojin calls her aunt and sister, so what should she call Gu Luojin?

cousin?

Actually, everyone can discuss their own perspectives; he doesn't think there's any problem.

Along with the script, they also stole two bananas from the fruit basket.

Wang Lu followed.

"Brother, I almost thought you wanted to be my uncle."

"It's time to call him cousin."

"Oh, Brother Gu, those who are called 'cousin' in the works of masters are usually not good people. Look at Yun Zhonghe in Jin Yong's works, and Ke Shizhao in 'Wrong Carriage'."

After thinking about it carefully, Gu Luojin realized that it was indeed not a good way to address someone.

"Then you can still call me 'brother'. I've retrieved the footage; remember to give it to the director of 'Better Days'."

Then he handed her two bananas.

"Why are you giving this to me? I'm not eating it."

"Who said it's for eating?"

"..."