The opening of China Entertainment Group gave Jay Chou a head-on confrontation

Chapter 892 This Damn Competitive Spirit
Huang Zongze was born in December 1980, which is exactly one year older than Zhou Yi.

After gaining experience through works such as "Hero, Sword and Boy", "Love Freestyle", "Triumph in the Skies", "My Master is Wong Fei-hung", "My Savage Granny", and "The New Legend of Ah Wong", he has gradually built up his own fan base.

During this period, his on-screen image and acting range were relatively broad.

Of course, once someone becomes famous, scandals inevitably follow.

In 2004, which was last year, Wong Chung-chak, who had already become famous for "Triumph in the Skies", was publicly denounced by his ex-girlfriend, Ms. Ng, who shattered the image of this new generation of TVB actor. She not only called him a scumbag, but also directly exposed Wong Chung-chak's sleeping photos to reporters.

Coincidentally, not long after, his ex-girlfriend, Ms. Zhen, also came out to fiercely criticize Huang Zongze, accusing him of being a shameless gigolo.

Therefore, after Zhou Yi gave the requirements, Qian Jiang, who was already more familiar with Hong Kong, immediately thought of this actor, who was one of the few new generation actors in the Hong Kong entertainment circle and whose temperament was extremely suitable.

"Sure, it's fine as long as you're familiar with it. It won't take too long anyway, probably about two days to get it done."

Thinking about it, Huang Zongze's character was a good fit for the role, so Zhou Yi readily agreed.

He's now incredibly skilled at shooting music videos. He can shoot enough footage for several music videos in a single day for videos that only require him as the male lead. Only a few videos with female leads take a little longer, but he's already filmed most of them.

After all, his music videos don't need any dark special effects or cosplay of the Thunder King, and this album doesn't have any big scenes or big productions.

"Don't even mention two days, even a week wouldn't be a problem. If he's unwilling to come, the TVB executives behind him will knock him out and send him over."

Qian Jiang chuckled and took a sip of tea: "Miss Le loves controversy and exposure the most."

Miss Lok is one of the new factions that have emerged in TVB in recent years. Her main principle is to prioritize appearance. Handsome men and beautiful women are Miss Lok's first criterion. Several of TVB's good-looking young actors were promoted by her. Wong Chung Chak is one of her protégés.

The I Ching itself is a news focus, and Huang Zongze was just torn apart by his two ex-girlfriends last year, with even his underwear being physically exposed. If he were to play a cheating scumbag, he would definitely generate a lot of buzz in the Hong Kong entertainment industry.

Moreover, most artists from the Hong Kong entertainment industry are used to making fun of themselves; they've done it countless times in variety shows, news reports, and interviews.

Yellow-brown is one of the best examples.

Although he already had a new girlfriend, Hu Xing'er, at this time.

Zhou Yi asked curiously, "Old Qian, do you have a deep connection with TVB?"

All he knew was that Qian Jiang had chosen to temporarily retire before Zhou Jianhui brought him back to mentor him, due to family reasons.

"It wasn't very deep; we just inevitably had some dealings with each other. Which agent in the Hong Kong entertainment industry back then didn't have dealings with Shaw Brothers and TVB?"

Qian Jiang, putting down his thermos, looked somewhat nostalgic: "Why did Jianhui want to find me back then? It's because I had been exposed to a lot of infighting within TVB before."

Zhouyi: "..."

Grass!
So Zhou Jianhui wanted to pull you out back then just to prepare for internal strife within Warner, right?

Yes, that's Warner's traditional skill, so it makes sense.

"Is this really reasonable?"

Half a day later, at Huang Zongze's home.

The man, who was about to enjoy a romantic moment with his girlfriend Hu Xing'er, received a call from his agent and immediately began to doubt the veracity of the story.

Zhou Yi is going to shoot a new story-driven music video, and I'm going to play the second male lead?
It wasn't that he was unwilling; it was just that he couldn't quite believe how he had managed to catch the eye of that music legend.

Did he see my performance?
“Miss Yue is on good terms with Mr. Qian. He is in charge of Spike’s logistics, so he recommended you, and Spike agreed.”

"Oh, that's okay."

Upon hearing about Qian Jiang, who is now a legend in Hong Kong's entertainment circle, Huang Zongze immediately understood, and even projected a dramatic scene onto his mind—

As is well known, Qian Jiang, as Zhou Yi's agent, has planned many classic marketing cases that shocked the entire Chinese entertainment industry since his debut. The exposure brought by each controversy is enviable. His marketing ability can be said to have taught the entertainment industry a lesson.

In today's TVB, there is also a high-ranking executive who likes to use controversy and scandals to generate buzz and increase exposure for his artists. He is known as the leader of the Lok Faction, who is rumored to "only care about looks and not acting skills."

Most people call her Miss Le.

As an artist from the music industry, Huang Zongze was arranged to have many controversial news stories to increase his exposure early on. It was only after "Triumph in the Skies" that he was able to barely gain a foothold in the newcomer circle.

Yes, very similar, both of them love marketing hype...

Hu Xing'er, Hu's girlfriend, was surprised: "Oh? Miss Le? Are they very close?"

"I don't know."

Huang Zongze patted his girlfriend's butt: "But it's an opportunity no matter what, it's worth a try. I'd like to broaden my acting range."

After all, Zhou Yi didn't like men.

One day later, in the capital, Beijing Dance Academy.

After finishing her nail polish, Wang Likun looked at Zhou Yi, who had come to check on the venue setup. She basked in the envious glances that kept falling on her, and could hardly contain her joy.

The female lead in a long-form music video will definitely receive much more media attention.

Moreover, judging from the script, Zhou Yi was clearly designed based on her natural makeup advantage, which maximizes her strengths.

Her days of lingering on set, constantly flattering Brother Yi, finally had an effect—at least she moved him!

"Brother Yi, thank you."

"You're welcome. You're the one who inspired me. I wasn't even planning to film this, and the cost wasn't increased by much."

Zhou Yi, turning back, waved his hand: "After all, it's just expanding the original 4-minute-plus plot to 20 minutes."

Lin Junjie's original version was 12 minutes long. Due to time constraints, many details were omitted, resulting in some parts being unclear after the version was released. Coupled with Lin Junjie's abstract acting style, this made it even easier to misunderstand.

His proposed plot outline extended the runtime to around 20 minutes, and after refining the details, the characters and plot became more fleshed out. He believed that even if his acting was bad, it was definitely better than Lin Junjie's.

Even if he's playing a character type that he's not good at.

About half an hour later, Huang Zongze, who had rushed to the scene with his agent, greeted him very humbly: "Hello, Brother Yi, my name is Huang Zongze. You can call me Bosco or Aze."

"Hello Bosco, I've heard of you."

Upon seeing the newcomer, Zhou Yi smiled, shook hands with her as usual, and casually introduced the leading lady, Wang Likun, beside him.

Huang Zongze has not yet evolved into his later complete form, nor is he Shaw Brothers' top star. He even looks a bit dark-skinned, and sometimes he needs to apply whitening cream for filming. In terms of temperament, he has not yet developed the roguish charm that swept across Hong Kong after playing Su Xingbo.

He was so timid and hesitant, which seemed somewhat out of place, a stark contrast to his later confident demeanor on the bus when he easily outmaneuvered the time management guru.

"Are the characters' backgrounds in the script correct?"

"No problem, Brother Yi, as you know, the news about me and my two ex-girlfriends is still circulating in Hong Kong..."

Huangzongze (黄棕泽) boldly and self-deprecatingly revealed its own flaws right from the start.

That's why they say Hong Kong entertainment is so adventurous.

................................................

Breaking News! Zhou Yi's New Album MV to be Extended!

Is she the first "Yi Girl" to give Zhou Yi more screen time?

Will the new story-driven music video based on the I Ching feature a Hong Kong actor with questionable credentials?

What is the charm of the new "Easy Girl"?

"..."

With the lifting of the embargo on WarnerMedia, the production team of "A Taste of Highbrow and Lowbrow Culture," which had only received concentrated media coverage at the beginning of filming before gradually disappearing from the news, has once again gained a wave of high exposure.

Wang Likun, the female lead in the music video for "Unfortunately, If Only," was suddenly thrust into the spotlight. The title of "the first 'Yi Girl' to have Zhou Yi add scenes for her" was quite impressive, instantly attracting a lot of attention.

Looking at all the female leads in Zhou Yi's album scandals since his debut, Wang Likun is the first one to go from playing a role in a short story to a long one—even as beautiful as Fan Bingbing and Gao Yuanyuan, their respective starring roles in "Love Me or Her" and "Love Transfer" were still the normal versions.

Cheng Hao's "In the Name of the Father" is not included, since the short film was actually made by Jiang Wen first, and it was originally intended to be a music film, so it doesn't count as an extra role.

Only Wang Likun, who started filming the normal four-minute version of "Unfortunately, If Only," gradually added scenes to create a longer version, which makes it hard not to speculate...

Especially considering the virtues of the Book of Changes.

"She's not some famous female celebrity, so how much bewitching potion did she give Zhou Yi?"

"She's a newcomer. Apart from Tsui Hark praising her chivalrous qualities, she hasn't appeared in any films or TV series yet. Her past has already been thoroughly investigated."

"It should be called 'not aired yet.' She's in 'Seven Swordsmen,' isn't she? She's in the promotional materials."

"It must be good that she really satisfied Zhou Yi? Otherwise, I can't imagine that Zhou Yi would add drama to someone else's life. This is truly unprecedented."

"She's pretty, but not stunningly beautiful."

"Not as good as Gao Yuanyuan and Fan Bingbing."

"Not as good as Qin Lan."

"Not as good as Asa."

"It's better than..."

"Stop talking! Stop talking! I've got a knife in my hand, I'll kill that dog Yi!!!"

I don't know, I was taken aback.

Currently, half of the most popular actresses in Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong have been photographed with Zhou Yi by reporters, which is practically an open secret, making people extremely envious.

In this sudden surge of popularity, even the combined publicity surrounding Wang Likun's initial casting as Tsui Hark in "Seven Swords" couldn't match the buzz surrounding this event.

Her personal cell phone number was bombarded with calls from reporters who somehow obtained her contact information, forcing her to urgently change her phone number before she finally got some peace and quiet.

Huang Zongze also rode this wave and became known in mainland China outside of Guangdong for the first time—of course, not for a good reason.

"The actor who plays the second male lead is no good either. He's a scumbag. Last year, he was publicly scolded by two of his ex-girlfriends in Hong Kong in front of the media."

"What do you mean by 'birds of a feather flock together' casting? Zhou Yi saw himself in it, didn't he?"

"To be fair, Zhou Yi didn't have any woman stand up to scold or criticize him."

"Nonsense, you have to be brave enough, he's such a big star now."

"Ahhh! Huang Zongze actually filmed a music video with Zhou Yi!"

"The person upstairs is brain-dead, diagnosis complete."

"..."

The news of an extended music video with added scenes immediately dominated the headlines of major entertainment media outlets, even overshadowing the early promotion of Kai's fantasy epic "The Promise," which reportedly had an investment of over $3000 million.

Kai was somewhat surprised.

However, considering that the I Ching treats everyone equally, they didn't say much, only continued to promote it.

It's touted as a Chinese version of "The Lord of the Rings," Chen Kaige's most personal epic, the largest investment in Chinese film history, the most star-studded cast in Asia, and a mythological film reminiscent of "Investiture of the Gods."

But none of these marketing campaigns could match the impact of a casual remark Zhou Yi made in an interview three days later—

"Wang Likun? I only added scenes for her because she's beautiful without makeup. She'd be perfect for a story-driven music video so it wouldn't be a waste. I'll do my best to show her natural beauty to her fans..."

The phrase "natural beauty" is generally considered less valuable; anyone in the entertainment industry can claim that. But if you add "personally certified by the I Ching" to those two phrases...

That gold content is quite extraordinary.

As everyone knows, Zhou Yi has had countless rumored girlfriends, and the number of those with solid evidence of being photographed is more than ten. Just as the Japanese media said, he is simply an expert!
Such a knowledgeable and worldly man actually said that he was inspired by Wang Likun's natural beauty and personally added scenes for her, turning it into a longer piece...

How beautiful must she be without makeup?
Can she surpass Fan Bingbing or Gao Yuanyuan?

"How can this kind of news dominate the headlines?"

Beijing, China Film Group office.

Chen Hong, who had just spent money to grab the headlines a couple of days ago, looked at him with a puzzled expression: "Have these people never seen a woman before?"

While beauty was highly valued in her time, it wasn't to this extent.

The space she painstakingly won back by spending a lot of money was snatched away by Zhou Yi without spending a penny.

Yang Buting and Han Sanping were also helpless – they couldn't do anything about this unreasonable hype; they couldn't just shut Zhou Yi up and stop him from speaking, could they?
"I told you long ago to add more money, add more money! If you want Xie Tingfeng, just add more money and throw it at Zhou Yi! But you wouldn't listen, and you were rejected because of cost. I've already said it, his influence is what it is." Chen Kaige, who didn't dislike Zhou Yi, started to feel frustrated and disappointed.

He wouldn't hold a grudge against Zhou Yi over a few days of headlines; he wasn't that petty. On the contrary, he admired Zhou Yi, a young man with solid achievements and talent.

He simply felt sorry for the masterpiece he admired.

If the I Ching could come, it would fill the last gap.

Chen Hong, one of the producers, opened her mouth, but after thinking about it, she decided not to say anything to refute her husband and immediately fell silent.

As Chen Kaige spoke, he became more and more confident and energetic: "Xie Tingfeng is no match for Zhou Yi at all. Just their height and presence are on completely different levels. Is acting training a problem? Jiang Wen was able to train him, so it's a piece of cake for me."

Seeing this wave of attention from Hong Kong, Nicholas Tse was speechless.

The unscrupulous Hong Kong media, completely disregarding his feelings, directly exposed that Chen Kaige had originally extended an invitation to Zhou Yi, but after being rejected several times, he turned to Xie Tingfeng as a backup plan.

The contrast is somewhat cruel.

Although he has accepted the reality that he was completely outmatched by the I Ching, you can't compare yourselves like that, can you?
Due to the news generated by Zhou Yi's personal endorsement, reporters frequently staked out the filming location, Beijing Dance Academy, hoping to capture a few photos of the goddess without makeup during the shoot.

This brings another problem to the I Ching—

Gao Yuanyuan: "Do you think I'm prettier without makeup or that girl surnamed Wang?"

Fan Bingbing: "Am I prettier than that vixen without makeup?"

"..."

This damn competitive mentality!

"Is it possible that this is a camp—hiss!"

Beijing, at Wang Likun's home.

Zhou Yi, who had finished all filming and entered post-production, was lying on the sofa making a phone call while waiting for the album to be sent for recording when suddenly his brow furrowed and he let out a muffled groan.

Gao Yuanyuan: "What are you doing???"

"I'm wondering how many copies this album will sell, and whether we can reach our goal."

"You'd better hurry up and fuck me, then I'll take it as you talking in your sleep."

Zhou Yi: "What are you talking about???"

"You don't have to wipe it off even if you have her water on, let you, who's blind, have another comparison."

(End of this chapter)