Entering the Chinese entertainment industry is like entering a deep sea

Chapter 823 My rules are rules
The news that her husband had been hired as a visiting professor at her alma mater made Liu Yifei happy, but she couldn't help but wonder: "Do you think it's possible for me to become Professor Liu one day?"

"If you want to give lectures, just let the school know after the production is finished, and they will be more than happy to help." Li Chen knew the ins and outs of this.

After Jiang Wen won the Venice Film Festival Award, didn't he briefly teach at the Central Academy of Drama?

Liu Yifei's face relaxed as she listened, and she nodded, looking at her husband with a smile: "Professor Li!"

"Teacher Liu!" Li Chen replied politely.

"Call me Teacher Liu again, let me hear it!"

"Boring!" Li Chen ignored his bored wife and turned to leave the bedroom.

"Where are you going?"

"School."

-

The news that Li Chen had been appointed as a visiting professor at Beijing Film Academy spread like wildfire on the school's online forum.

The students were overjoyed.

"Director Li has become a visiting professor! Will he be able to teach our classes?"

"It's still daytime, and you're already dreaming!"

"Why not just become the principal!"

"Upstairs, Principal Zhang wants to see you in his office!"

"Hahaha"

When Li Chen arrived at the Beijing Film Academy, he quickly caused a stir among the students, who asked for his autograph and photos.

Li Chen could barely move an inch.

When Li Chen arrived at Dean Zhang Huijun's office, several college leaders, including Hou Guangming, Zhang Jian, and Dean Zhang Huijun, were already gathered together.

"Haha, speak of the devil, and he appears! Li Chen is here!" Upon seeing Li Chen, the three of them stood up from their seats at the same time, Zhang Huijun said with a smile.

Li Chen quickly stepped forward and shook hands with Zhang Huijun and the other two, saying with a smile, "Dean, Secretary Hou, Secretary Zhang, you three important figures wouldn't have waited here specifically for me, would you?"

Hou Guangming chuckled and said, "What do you think? You've really made the three of us old folks wait for so long. You're quite the big shot."

Li Chen's expression changed naturally, and he sincerely admitted his mistake: "Secretary Hou, it's my fault, it's my fault."

Hou Guangming and the others were clearly joking, but seeing that Li Chen's attitude remained humble and that he hadn't become arrogant because of the change in his status and position, the three of them were still satisfied.

"You little rascal! Ever since the students found out you were going to be a visiting professor, they've all been making a fuss about letting you take over my position," Zhang Huijun said with Hou Guangming and Zhang Jian.

"That's no fun. With Secretary Hou above me, I'd rather be a visiting professor."

Zhang Huijun was taken aback. The other two exchanged glances with Zhang Huijun, and after two or three seconds, they burst into loud laughter.

Zhang Huijun wondered to himself, "Could it be that Li Chen knows he's going to step down? What a joke."

Beijing Daily News

"Official announcement from the Film Academy on January 16, 2016."

"On the eve of the winter vacation, the Beijing Film Academy held a grand appointment ceremony to formally appoint Li Chen, an outstanding alumnus and chairman of Rongchen Film Industry, as an honorary visiting professor of the Beijing Film Academy."

"This filmmaker, who just received 11 Oscar nominations for 'La La Land,' will return to his alma mater in a new role, injecting cutting-edge industry vitality into film education."

"That morning, the standard screening room at Beijing Film Academy was packed. When Dean Zhang Huijun handed the gold-embossed letter of appointment to Li Chen, he specially showed him a photo from his student record in 2002, which caused laughter throughout the room."

"According to the agreement signed on site, Rongchen Pictures will set up a special 'Rongchen Creative Scholarship' to fund 5 student works each year, and outstanding students will have the opportunity to sign with Rongchen Pictures."

On Weibo, Li Chen has gained another title: Professor!

I came back from school and we had guests at home again.

"The professor is back." Zhou Xun sat on the living room sofa, with Liu Yifei, who was heavily pregnant, beside her, and her husband Gao Shengyuan sitting on the single sofa next to them.

"Why did you come here?" Li Chen took off his coat and sat down opposite Gao Shengyuan.

"Director Li," Gao Shengyuan quickly bowed slightly in greeting.

Li Chen nodded slightly in response.

"What? You're not welcome? I came to see the pregnant woman, not you!"

"That's right, Xun-ge'er finally made it here. He's about to start filming, and he was worried I wouldn't be able to make it in time for my delivery, so he came over early." Liu Yifei said with a smile, holding Zhou Xun's hand.

Li Chen chuckled lightly: "Joining the cast? For 'Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace'?"

Zhou Xun was secretly delighted and laughed with Liu Yifei, "It seems your husband still cares about me. I thought he had long forgotten about me!"

Li Chen shook his head secretly, while Liu Yifei chuckled.

"President Zhou!" Gao Shengyuan quickly spoke up, gesturing to Zhou Xun not to go too far.

Zhou Xun laughed heartily: "Oh, I was just joking with Director Li. Didn't you see that even the pregnant woman didn't seem to care? If I really had something going on with Director Li, would she let me come over? Is she pregnant or not?"

Liu Yifei glanced at Gao Shengyuan and laughed, "I'm used to it. She's just a female hooligan!"

Li Chen didn't seem to care; that's just Zhou Xun's personality.

"Although both 'Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace' and 'Empresses in the Palace' feature female protagonists and are works by the same author, with 'Empresses in the Palace' preceding it, you will inevitably be compared to Sun Li due to preconceived notions."

“I have confidence in your acting skills. But with that husky voice of yours, take my advice and find a voice-over like Sun Li did. Don’t use your own voice; it’s easy to break the immersion,” Li Chen said objectively.

He didn't mention that Zhou Xun is already quite old, which was a way of saving face for her.

Hou Hongliang's choice of Zhou Xun is not bad, after all, Zhou Xun still has a baby face and has not had children, so she looks young.

It's much better than Zhang Ziyi having to play a young girl in "Shangyang Fu" with the face of a middle-aged woman in two years.

Zhou Xun rolled her eyes: "I knew your husband wouldn't say anything nice, but I won't. I'm not her. Delivering lines is my forte!"

Zhou Xun wouldn't listen to reason, so Li Chen stopped talking. He didn't like Zhou Shengyuan, so he said, "If you're not leaving at noon, stay for lunch. I'll be taking care of some things in the study."

“Okay!” Zhou Xun replied readily.

Once Li Chen went upstairs, Zhou Xun and Liu Yifei resumed their chatter: "Is your husband angry?! What's wrong with my original voice? Gao Shengyuan's voice is incredibly sexy!"

Liu Yifei thought to herself, "Indeed, love is blind!"
“He won’t be angry! He’s flying to Los Angeles in a few days and has a lot to do, so he’s been staying in his study most of the time since he got home these past two days.”

Li Chen returned to his study and first called Cao Guowei, as a way of reminding him.

“I’ve recently noticed that the names of celebrities who have been officially identified as having bad records still appear on trending searches and Sina’s headlines from time to time. Like Huang Haibo and Ke Zhendong, I’m giving you a heads-up. If you don’t want to be summoned for questioning, you’d better take some action.” Cao Guowei understood immediately. Li Chen, the major shareholder of Weibo, was well-informed and sometimes had access to information much more timely than he did.

From the very beginning of Weibo's establishment, Li Chen helped Weibo avoid being summoned for talks at least twice, something Cao Guowei was well aware of.

"Is it that serious?"

"Is it serious? Just look at the style of this year's Spring Festival Gala. Without those few scoundrels, Weibo wouldn't be Weibo anymore. What are you still hesitating about?" Li Chen was speechless. No wonder Sina had the 'reputation' of being a scumbag!
-

The 11 Oscar nominations for "La La Land" have sparked heated discussions around the world.

The most famous example is Nolan's interview.

Reporter: "Is there any movie that you would watch repeatedly?"

Nolan: "It's strange, I don't like musicals, but I watched La La Land three times. I wanted to go back and watch it again to see if it was as good as I imagined, and it turned out to be!"

Therefore, it was both reasonable and expected that La La Land would receive the key to a delay.

China Film Report
"La La Land's key has been extended, and a romantic storm is sweeping through the Spring Festival film season."

"The National Film Funding Office issued a notice today that the Oscar-nominated film 'La La Land,' produced by Rongchen Pictures and directed by Chen Kexin, has officially obtained permission to extend its screening key."

“放映周期由原定的1月17日延长至2月17日。这部已上映30天的音乐爱情片，将携威尼斯金狮影片、奥斯卡11项提名的荣耀，继续在春节档书写票房奇迹。”

"La La Land, originally scheduled to be taken off the screens in late January, will have a unique clash with the new films released during the Spring Festival."

Sina Entertainment News

Hou Hongliang calls for consistent censorship for online dramas and television dramas!

"The phenomenal web series 'Go Princess Go' was found to have been taken down yesterday."

"In fact, due to the rapid development of the online drama market in the past two years, the quality of online dramas varies greatly, and some online dramas have become increasingly explicit and even skirt the edge of legality, leading to growing calls for stronger censorship. Hou Hongliang called for equal treatment in censorship."

"With the increasing number of online dramas, some have become excessive in order to cater to the market, prompting industry insiders to call for stronger regulation of online dramas."

Nolan's statement did indeed contribute to the film's critical reception and box office performance.

When Nolan called Li Chen, he asked Li Chen if he was a good friend.

But Li Chen knew that Nolan had also liked this movie in his previous life.

Otherwise, given his personality, he would never ruin his reputation for the sake of friendship.

The removal of "Go Princess Go" from online platforms left Zhang Tian'ai completely bewildered.

Who is Hou Hongliang? He's the former CEO of her company!
Jia Yueting of LeEco was furious: "They've gone too far as to bully me, Jia Yueting! They've even taken it for granted! I haven't even had a chance to settle the score with them over 'Tiny Times' yet!"

Old Jia's wife, Gan Wei, who is also the producer of "Go Princess Go", was also furious.

LeTV finally had a hit web series, but someone sabotaged it.

"Old Jia, we can't tolerate this anymore! I've come to realize that in the entertainment industry, it's either the East Wind prevails over the West Wind, or the West Wind prevails over the East Wind! Mr. Zhang, what do you say?" Gan Wei turned her head and glanced at Zhang Zhao, the general manager of LeTV Pictures.

Jia Yueting also turned to look at Zhang Zhao.

Zhang Zhao remained relatively rational: "President Jia, President Gan, if we want to compete with Rong Chen, we are at a disadvantage in every aspect at present. My point is that before 'Tiny Times 3' and 'Tiny Times 4' are released, we should not cause any unnecessary trouble."

“Li Chen has shares in Weibo, and Liu Yifei is the largest shareholder of Douyin. The Rongchen Group is now far ahead in strength, otherwise how could there be the saying that it is one superpower and five strong!”

Old Jia is actually just a master of empty talk; if you asked him to arm wrestle with Li Chen, he wouldn't be confident at all.

He lost the battle with Li Chen for the film and television rights to "Blood Romance" and TVB, which left him with a psychological shadow, always feeling inferior to Li Chen.

Gan Wei was displeased: "No way! We can't just let this go. You two grown men can put up with it, but I can't!"

"So, Mr. Gan, what do you plan to do?" Zhang Zhao was at a loss; the other party ran a husband-and-wife business, and Lao Jia couldn't get a hard job.

Even if I can't do anything to him right now, I can't let him get too comfortable!

Gan Wei left her husband's office after uttering a harsh remark.

Two days later, Penguin and Qiyi also received notices from the bureau, but Youku was the only one that was unaffected.

Beijing News reported

"The Hidden Ones" was suddenly taken down! The crackdown on online dramas continues.

"Following the removal of the hit web series 'Go Princess Go' yesterday, the BL drama 'Shang Yin,' which was originally scheduled to premiere on iQiyi and Tencent Video at 8 pm on January 29, has also been suddenly subject to 'technical adjustments'!"

"It is worth noting that in this storm, only Rongchen Pictures' Youku remained unscathed, causing a stir in the industry."

Gan Wei (Jia Yueting's wife) sarcastically commented on Weibo: "The rules of the underworld are based on ability, not backstabbing, especially since Tian Ai is one of our own!"

"It is understood that Zhang Tian'ai, the female lead of 'Go Princess Go,' once served as the assistant to Yang Siwei, the CEO of Youku. Gan Wei's move is seen as an attempt to reveal that the mastermind behind the removal of 'Go Princess Go' was Zhang Tian'ai's former boss, Yang Siwei."

Yang Siwei is even more wronged than Dou E. She didn't do anything wrong in "Go Princess Go", but Gan Wei made veiled accusations against her.

She did produce "Shang Yin," but there's nothing wrong with it; the three major platforms are inherently engaged in fierce competition.

As for LeEco, she doesn't even consider it a threat.

What's more, the fact that "Shang Yin," which blatantly tells a "youthful inspirational love story that transcends gender," was able to pass censorship is astonishing.

Strange things happen every year, but this year there are especially many.

From Wu Datou last year to Shangyin this year, I wonder if the people in charge of censorship are just doing nothing.

For a whole month, the entertainment industry was rife with intrigue and turmoil, and only a handful of people at the very top could feel the perilous atmosphere.

“Honey, let’s try to have ‘Legend of Fuyao’ exclusively streamed on Youku!” At the headquarters of Jiaxing Media in Beijing, Zeng Jia, Yang Mi, and Zhao Ruoyao looked like frogs that had been drenched in rain.

A month of whirlwind battles.

Rong Chen's group went through each and every one of them.

From Huanrui to the top five private enterprises and then to BAT, Huayi's market value shrank by nearly 70 billion yuan without being hurt. Huanrui disintegrated and disappeared. iQiyi and Tencent remained silent. Only Jia Yueting's wife made a sarcastic remark on Weibo.

Zeng Jia is now a little worried about LeEco.

However, the couple behind LeEco are worth tens of billions, so Zeng Jia believes that nothing serious should happen.

"This senior is setting the rules! He once said something that I still remember vividly."

"What did you say?" Zhao Ruoyao asked casually.

“My rules are my rules,” Yang Mi said, still feeling a lingering fear.

(End of this chapter)