When will I be the queen

Chapter 459 Adaptation
The immortal lord laughed along, "The capitalists are all real-life movie stars. Their understanding of acting is child's play. Not to mention, many capitalists don't even watch movies or TV dramas."

Cai Cai sighed. Indeed, not to mention capital, none of her family members watched or followed dramas before she became an actress. They were too busy, and there were so many other ways to have fun and pass the time, why bother watching on a screen? If they really wanted to watch, wouldn't it be better to have someone perform live?

"Let them do whatever they want. Several characters will probably come to the set with their own makeup and styling."

"The country is so good to its artists. If only she had started her career here from the beginning."
Cai Cai is really a little envious.

"But the final makeup and styling decision is still up to us."

Cai Cai looked at the Immortal Lord and thought, "Good heavens, I almost forgot about you. You are my greatest asset."
"Anything else is fine, my only bottom line is the hood. It can't be a full-top hood. I don't care what method they use, the front must be real hair, especially the sideburns. If they make sideburns that look like they're pulled down to the chin or the corners of the eyes, then this person doesn't need to come."

The Immortal Lord was completely taken aback when Cai Cai made such a request. "The full-face wig mainly solves the time cost problem, which is indeed very convenient. The kind of large sideburns you mentioned are mainly for modifying the face shape and features of the artist. If the artist is good-looking, there won't be any problem even if they wear a full-face wig." He paused, "I've worn one before."

"But didn't you grow your hair long later? You've kept this medium-length hairstyle until now. Don't tell me you didn't do it to save time while filming." In her memory, Xianjun always had a medium-length hairstyle with a little tail at the back of his head. Luckily, he's a good actor and doesn't rely on his hairstyle, so he doesn't break the audience's immersion. If the marketing accounts hadn't mentioned it, many viewers wouldn't have realized that Xianjun's modern hairstyles in several of his works were medium-length. It's also mainly because Xianjun has a dignified and upright appearance, and a cold and ethereal temperament, that he doesn't come across as pretentious.

Male celebrities with medium-length hair tend to look particularly affected and pretentious. They seem to be posing as if they're constantly admiring themselves in the mirror. I've encountered several like this, from various countries.

The immortal lord simply said, "You can't use my standards to judge others." There was no need for that.

“You can specify the styling and makeup, but you can’t just demand that we give up the full headgear.” Even more tyrannical than him, the Immortal Lord reminded Cai Cai, “You also need to consider the time cost. It’s not just a matter of money. A person’s energy is very limited. If he needs to sit in the dressing room for two hours to do his makeup, then his energy for acting will definitely not be as sufficient as if he spent one hour. The biggest core of time cost is energy.”

Cai Cai said yes.

The Immortal Lord noted that auditions often require actors to wear wigs. This is actually quite normal, because some actors look like grandfathers when they put on wigs, appearing both old and haggard. This explains why the most energetic hairstyle is the military buzz cut; it's a buzz cut style that suits most people. This illustrates the danger of over-styling. Simply put, it means staying within the realm of ordinary people. Ordinary people shouldn't be overdressed; a clean, simple, and plain look is best. However, some actors will actively request styling, which is a typical example of how period costumes are more memorable than modern makeup and styling.

"Some artists are suited to modern makeup and styling, while others are suited to ancient makeup and styling. People generally think that ancient makeup and styling is more elaborate, but actually, modern makeup and styling is the most elaborate. This is especially true for male artists. Male artists have very few options for ancient makeup and styling, mainly limited to two categories: civil and military roles, which are all quite simple. Female artists have many more options for ancient makeup and styling, which is why they love taking on period drama roles. Even in fantasy dramas that seem elaborate at first glance, male actors still appear quite plain."

Xianjun didn't want Cai Cai to be troubled by the styling of male actors. "It's not that no one has ever broken through. There are many groundbreaking period drama designs for male actors in film history: short hair, curly hair, braids, loose hair, bald heads, sleeveless outfits, deep V-neck outfits, capes, shorts, long boots, etc., but they only break through once and then never again. Actors can't afford to go through all that trouble, and stylists don't want to be criticized anymore. Although the audience doesn't have a unified standard for what is beautiful, they are quite unified in their dislike of what is not beautiful."

Even today, there are still many complaints online about the ugly costumes in old movies and TV dramas from the last century.

"The celebrities who get criticized actually all have beautiful looks, but ugliness always generates more buzz than beauty." Xianjun's requirement for this project is simple: "It has to be good-looking. The styling, the character, the movements, all have to be very good-looking, good-looking from every angle."

"." Cai Cai felt that the Immortal Lord's request was much more exaggerated than her own.

"You have so many demands, why don't you demand good acting skills? Good acting skills can transform an actor." It's like plastic surgery improving acting skills.

"It's too difficult. Looking good on camera is something that can be objectively achieved, but acting is too subjective." The Immortal Lord gestured for Cai Cai to look at the introduction.

"So, should we still choose the role of the young hero?" Cai Cai asked.

The immortal said, "Why ask for a second choice when there are better options available?"

"." So what are you acting by doing whatever Cao Xin asks?

There were 130 people. Cai Cai wanted the Immortal Lord to pick out the ones he thought were good, but the Immortal Lord refused.

"This is your play, you need to find someone you click with."

“This is your script, your project. I don’t care. As long as it’s suitable, it doesn’t matter if we like each other or not.” Cai Cai didn’t care at all who her co-star was.

The immortal lord pondered for a moment, then said, "There are many people in China, so you can be more selective. Besides, this is your project, and you have veto power over everything and everyone." This isn't like when you were alone abroad facing those big shots, resource-rich celebrities, and their offspring. You didn't have a choice abroad, but in China, you have far more options.

Cai Cai understood, and felt a pang of sadness. Indeed, now the whole world considered her the leading figure of the new generation—she had works, popularity, and a formidable personality. But no one truly understood how helpless she felt when she was fourteen, studying abroad in obscurity, being dragged from one country to another by casting directors. She wasn't afraid, but she felt helpless and lost. If she hadn't been determined to be an actress, she would have retired from the industry when Jarvis selected her.

How to describe a director's gaze? Take Jarvis, for example. He's not looking at you as a person, but at your potential, the part of the character he envisions that he can bring to life through you. To put it bluntly, it's like selecting pork: this piece is suitable for stir-frying, this piece is suitable for braising, this piece is suitable for meatball soup. Cai Cai now recalls that the way Jarvis looked at her back then was the look of someone finding their most desired weapon. At the time, she was too excited and didn't think about it afterward. Only after working with more directors in the past two years has she slowly come to understand.

Jarvis was looking at her with the eyes of someone admiring their most perfect creation. Cai Cai knew it perfectly well.

“I was indeed most influenced by him.” Jarvis said she was his disciple and successor, but Cai Cai knew very well that “he regarded me as his masterpiece. His hard work and knowledge were all integrated into me.”

"I don't dislike him. He's so old, high-ranking, and capable; he can't possibly change his mind. I've had feelings of disgust, but because I'm the beneficiary, I can't really bring myself to hate him. I don't have many intense feelings of love or hate. I just think, since I'm the beneficiary and I'm enjoying the performance, why be pretentious? Consider it paying tuition for respecting the elderly."

"." Are you emotionally sparse, or just heartless?

Seeing that the Immortal Lord was somewhat speechless, Cai Cai explained further, "Because in my opinion, apart from my family, no one in this world should unconditionally love and treat me well. Even my family members, I wouldn't demand that they love me that much. Moreover, receiving such behavior must include both positive and negative aspects; it's impossible to always receive only positive things. The negative aspects that come with it should also be accepted calmly. Being concerned with dignity or anything like that isn't true self-love, but selfishness." Wanting only the benefits and not the drawbacks—there's no such thing as a free lunch. "Even sunbathing has the consequences of sweating and getting a tan, let alone the human heart in this world. When it comes to people, I only want to discuss the good, not the bad." Unless the other person really dislikes her, then she will dislike them even more.

The immortal understood Cai Cai's feelings; she always saw the world in such a positive light. "So you don't want to be the one who makes the choices?" Even though you could.

Cai Cai shook her head. She wasn't that unwilling to take responsibility. "If I get used to the environment in China where I can choose my co-stars, it will inevitably affect my work performance abroad. The work performance I want is exactly the kind I get abroad, where I can perform well and ensure that I do a good job no matter who my co-stars are."

The immortal tilted his head, wondering how someone could be so naive. "You've seen The Mist of the Empire, right? You should remember that in many scenes, you acted very well and worked very hard, but they were cut. Do you think it was just because of editing needs? It's very likely that it was because the actors who were in the same scenes as you didn't perform well, and for the sake of the overall picture, they cut out the scenes where you performed very well as well. Do you think that's fair to your efforts?"

Cai Cai had always known the biggest difference between herself and Xian Jun in acting: Xian Jun was not easily swayed. He had a strong desire to control everything around him. When acting, he would always demand that his co-stars perform well as well. If they couldn't, he would try to steal the spotlight, block them, or even resort to behind-the-scenes tactics. But Cai Cai wouldn't make those demands; she wouldn't ask others to do anything.

As long as the whole scene is good, whether to cut it or keep it is up to the director. But the immortal lord wants every shot to be effective and not to be wasted.

They both pursue efficiency, but their methods are just too different.

"Because it's really too difficult to demand things of others. They are other people, after all. Even people can't demand much of themselves, let alone others." Cai Cai felt that, to some extent, the Immortal Lord was an extremely idealistic person.

The immortal accepted Cai Cai's choice, but still insisted that she choose for herself. He couldn't expect her to be a domineering actress, but couldn't he also expect her to be a casting director?
"." Add money.

Cai Cai glanced through them first and found that they were all celebrities without any major flaws. No plastic surgery, no unsightly appearances, and no obvious physical shortcomings.

"You didn't go through every single person in the industry who met your requirements, did you?"

Xianjun said, "How could that be? Do you know how many people are in this circle? Countless have made it big and have names, not to mention those who haven't made it. The so-called '18th-tier' people online are actually well-known in the circle. The real bottom tier consists of those shadowy figures, faceless and nameless." Cai Cai still hasn't had enough contact with her peers.

"." Fine, that sounds disheartening.

"You felt like you were being sidelined back then, but actually, many people remembered you. If you had continued for another year or two, the kind of capital that makes you famous would have sought you out." There was no other reason, "because you're beautiful. Capital will use data to calculate what you'll look like as an adult. As long as your beauty is above average, you'll receive their support." It was just because you had a strong personality, and the company was worried you'd leave the industry, that they let you go abroad. The result? Surprisingly, "Now fame is begging you!"

"..." Isn't this just taking advantage of someone's misfortune? Cai Cai didn't regret going out, mainly because it was safer to stay far away from those possessing ghosts.

The immortal said a few more words, “Look at the market, especially the film industry, the actors used to be fixed, just the same few people coming and going. Weren’t there any other good actors? Did the audience not want to see other actors? Ultimately, it was because there was capital pushing those few people back then. Was it because they were good at acting? No. Was it because they were good-looking? Even less so, the audience thought they were ugly. But why them? Because they were the safest bet. Investing in them in a movie wouldn’t lose money.”

Later, with the entry of other industrial groups, this circle, which had been fixed by capital, was broken. Wanqian was established at that time.

"So, for an actor to become famous, luck is the most important thing. Everything else is just a bonus. You just have to be lucky." Because if Cai Cai had stayed in China at that time, and then capital took the opportunity to make demands on her, she would definitely have retired from the industry. That's Cai Cai's luck.

"Those actors who dominated film festivals back then were as glamorous as they are now. Online, they're called the 'stubborn generation,' or, more bluntly, leeches and flies—they cling to the film industry and their work is like maggots. So if you think it's hard for artists to get ahead now, it's because you missed the entertainment industry of the past. For those generations, it was even harder. Some even had their popularity firmly held by them despite being blacklisted, controlling their fans. There are quite a few artists now who dare not appear in China and only work abroad, but most of them aren't lawbreakers. In the past, several of them rose to fame through hard work."

Ah, Cai Cai also watched those popular movies from that time. How should I put it? The audience back then was really tolerant. How could they spend money to go to the cinema to see just a few faces? It would be more like they were losing money. If everyone was bad at acting and didn't look good, that would be one thing, but in fact, among the other less popular films of the same period, there were clearly some good-looking and good-acting actors.

"Back then, it seemed that after the elimination of popular but talentless celebrities, things went to the other extreme. Being unattractive was automatically considered a sign of acting talent. This was probably also related to the socio-economic environment at the time."

Cai Cai's own experience reveals a crucial point: many beautiful women go unnoticed unless they become entertainers. For instance, many people wonder why she chose to be an actress. In the past, upon seeing someone beautiful, people would immediately assume they were destined for stardom. This reflects the changing attitudes of society as a whole. Beauty is no longer confined to the entertainment industry.

In the early 20th century, there were still artists from poor families who debuted to earn money and pay off debts. Later, as society developed, beautiful women had more life choices, and being an artist was no longer the only path. That's when the world's first decline in the perceived attractiveness of celebrities began, though people didn't notice it at the time. Because from that point onward, the global entertainment industry entered a near-hereditary era, which continues to this day. The advantage of this hereditary system is that the entertainment industry has become more diverse, and China's cultural and entertainment industry has risen, no longer dominated by foreign countries.

Even among celebrities in their eighties today, almost none of them were originally from the industry. Their families all worked in the entertainment circle, both in front of and behind the camera. For example, Cao Xin is a fourth-generation star, though he's usually referred to as a third-generation star. The person Cai Cai knows who has worked in the industry the longest is a photographer in Jarvis's team, who is an eighth-generation star. His family's lineage can be traced back to the era of black-and-white silent films.

Audiences think that the entertainment industry has low barriers to entry and anyone can get in, but in reality, this industry is very closed. Those who can truly gain a foothold in this industry are people who originally lived in this industry.

This is not just due to important factors such as lack of resources, connections, and information; an even more important factor is their adaptability.

The same applies to any industry: adaptability is the key to success. Like a fish in water.

"Circumstances shape people." Cai Cai felt it was hard to say who was stronger or weaker, better or worse. "The environment at that time was only suitable for those artists. The current environment is not suitable for them."

The immortal lord acknowledged this, especially the fact that beauties are not seen. "I was single-mindedly determined to become an artist, partly because of family reasons, and partly because I was afraid of being dragged into marriage for no reason, like a stud pig."

"." You're so honest. Is it really okay to be so frank?
Cai Cai knew this was true because her family, mostly unmarried, received countless matchmaking photos every day. The gene for beauty is a scarce social resource. When a group of people control all the material resources they can, they start targeting the resource of beauty. Even those with a little wealth, once they become financially secure, will first begin to demand the resource of beauty.

It's the same principle as emperors, heroes, and kings wanting beautiful women as rewards and rewards for their achievements. Not to mention, it can also improve the appearance genes of their offspring.