Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 159 The Cavalry Company Commander and the Seven Fairies on the Spring Festival Gala
Yan Li became a celebrity in the online circle because of his quarrel with Zhang Da Huzi.

I found that there are many benefits to becoming famous through hype. For example, some of the progress of "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng" was smoother, and it was easier to attract investment for "Investiture of the Gods".

A coffee shop in Beijing

Yan Li met with Julian Cheung and his agent. Due to their image and temperament, he was willing to talk further.

If the other party is willing to give some resources in exchange, it is not impossible for him to play Lu Xiaofeng.

Julian Cheung debuted as a singer and his most well-known role is Guo Jing in the 94 version of The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

He has also appeared in TVB dramas and a few movies. He is a second-tier artist in Hong Kong, and his influence is more concentrated in the Cantonese-speaking areas.

In the past two years, Julian Cheung has started to develop in the mainland, mainly focusing on martial arts themes. He was the male lead in the slightly popular "Against the Current", but was overshadowed by the second male lead, Wallace Chung.

Yan Li actually didn't have a deep impression of him. Apart from Guo Jing, his biggest label was Anita Yuen's husband.

To be honest, although Yuan has been a little out of fashion in the past two years and has not produced many works, she was still the leading actress in the Hong Kong circle back then, and her status and fame still surpassed that of Julian Cheung.

However, precisely because of this, Zhang Zhilin's pay is not high even with the bonus from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Similarly, when it comes to selling dramas, Julian Cheung is not as effective as Chen Kun and Huang Haibing, two very popular young actors in mainland China today.

Many people mistakenly believe that actors from Hong Kong and Taiwan are better at selling dramas than actors from mainland China.

There is nothing wrong with what he said, but it depends on the person!

It is true that extremely popular Hong Kong and Taiwan artists like Nicholas Tse, Dicky Cheung, Jimmy Lin, and F4 are better than those young actors from the mainland, but some second- and third-tier artists from Hong Kong and Taiwan really cannot compare with those popular young actors from the mainland.

The TV station is not stupid. They look at the popularity, not the Hong Kong or Taiwan identity card.

In the early years, because the mainland entertainment industry had not yet developed, there were not many young actors and actresses with commercial appeal, and people could not tell them apart. In addition, many related commercial themes were produced by Hong Kong and Taiwan teams, and they were more willing to use Hong Kong and Taiwan artists.

This is why second- and third-tier Hong Kong and Taiwan actors are more popular than some popular mainland actors and actresses.

But in the past two years, new people have continued to emerge in the mainland entertainment industry, and more and more people are able to take on projects.

Leaving aside the film industry, in the field of TV dramas, more and more mainland crews prefer to use mainland artists. The overall trend has changed from the dominance of Hong Kong and Taiwan in previous years to a situation where both sides are competing against each other, and there is even a tendency to overtake.

Yan Li undoubtedly leans towards the mainland, but he does not hate Hong Kong and Taiwan artists to the point of being hostile.

I won’t force it, but I don’t rule it out if I might use it!

There is nothing in Nicholas Tse's life worth exchanging with Yan Li, and his wife is just average.

The reason why Yan Li was willing to talk to him was that he was attracted by the company behind him - Zedong Films.

This name is not well-known, but the two bosses of this company are very famous, the famous Hong Kong director Wang Mojing and Liu Zhenwei.

There is no need to say much about their status in the Hong Kong film industry and their extensive network of contacts.

Yi An's main business at present is TV dramas, but it is impossible for him to completely give up movies. He also has to consider the artist management, especially Fan Xiaopang. If he wants to help her break into the first line, as one of the four female actors, she will need movie resources.

Wang Mojing, Yan Li really didn't have much hope. After all, he was a great art director and was difficult to deal with.

Liu Zhenwei is different. He is involved in commercial films and is well versed in this field. He also has extensive connections in the Hong Kong circle. Even if you can't act in his films, he can accept introductions to other resources.

So this conversation was very brief, and Yan Li almost said it directly: Zhang Zhilin wanted the role and wanted to exchange it for Hong Kong film resources.

Zhang Zhilin's face looked unhappy. It was not that he didn't accept it, but that he couldn't make the decision.

His company might not be willing to help him at all costs. Not to mention exchange, he didn't get much of the company's own film resources.

"Boss Yan, I will try my best. I hope you can give me some time."

Nicholas Tse didn't want to give up, this opportunity was really good for him.

Director Ju Jueliang of "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng" was familiar with him and privately urged him to fight for it, believing that this work could become a milestone in his career.

There is no actor who doesn't want to be famous. After being lukewarm for so many years, Julian Cheung also wants to experience what it's like to be a popular star.

"I'll try my best to give you some time, but there might be changes with other candidates, so please hurry up."

Yan Li has a good impression of Julian Cheung, and can even say that he has a very good impression. Among the Hong Kong and Taiwan artists he has come into contact with, this guy's speech, behavior and personality are all top-notch.

Unfortunately, Nicholas Tse has too few cards, and Yan Li giving him this opportunity is a bit unusual and even biased.

When they were about to part, his agent called to leave. Yan Li thought about it and asked Zhang Zhilin something.

"Mr. Zhang has been developing in the mainland in recent years. Why don't you consider switching to a mainland company?"

"This……"

Zhang Zhilin opened his mouth slightly, but Yan Li didn't say anything else. He smiled and left first.

To be honest, Zhang Zhilin's personality and career ambition do not quite meet Yan Li's requirements for Yi'an artists.

But Yan Li believes that the drama "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng" will definitely give a long-term boost to his career, so signing it and making some money is better than acting for other artists.

Chen Kun’s Rong Xinda is pretty good, and there are a lot of collaborations we can discuss.

The company behind Huang Haibing is just average, but he is quite particular. He can negotiate about remuneration and subsequent cooperation, and is also willing to help bring Yi An artists into other crews, etc.

Really, if you don’t participate in Yan Li’s work, you won’t know that there are many details involved in the casting of a medium-to-large-scale production.

It is said that when casting for The Return of the Condor Heroes, Nie Yuan and Huang Xiaoming competed for the male lead, which involved the copyright holders, producers, and other parties involved in the competition.

The role of Xiaolongnu was originally decided upon by Zhou Gongzi, who even admitted in an interview that he was preparing for it, but later the actor was replaced.

Yan Li couldn't help but be curious. If an investment of 3000 million was like this, how fierce would the competition be if it was a project worth hundreds of millions in the future?

The main character in "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng" is a man, Yan Li, who puts interests first.

If there is a drama starring a female actress...

In fact, he had experienced this once when he was filming "The Seven Fairies", but those were all small actors and newcomers. Yan Li really wanted to see the methods of those famous actresses.

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In December, the crew of "Bright Sword" officially started filming in Hebei Province.

Yan Li’s role has also been decided. "Bright Sword" is the most popular drama next year, and he also wants to appear in it.

"The Legend of Xue Rengui" intends to cast him as the male lead. Yan Li is confident in his image and acting skills, but his fame and ability to carry a drama are far behind.

Fortunately, "The Emperor of Han Wu" and "The Seven Fairies" are about to be broadcast, so he can go to "Drawing Sword" to show his face.

Even if he doesn't become a huge star, at least he won't drag down "The Legend of Xue Rengui" because his price was cut by the TV station.

It was originally planned to give Yan Li a role with more screen time, Wei Monk in the early stage or Duan Peng in the later stage.

But the next two months are Yan Li's busiest time, and with the Chinese New Year, he really doesn't have time to stay on "Drawing Sword" for long, so he took a look at the script and chose a character who has few roles but is quite outstanding.

Cavalry Company Commander, Sun Desheng!
In terms of screen time, this character doesn't have a lot of screen time, but he does have a strong presence. Whether it's fighting with Li Yunlong to participate in the hand-to-hand combat, confessing his intention to join the Eighth Route Army, or the final charge, they are all very eye-catching. Yan Li even thinks that playing this role is easier for the audience to remember than playing Duan Peng.

At the same time, Yan Li’s riding skills are good, which just fits the role of a cavalry company commander.

The only thing is that Yan Li looks a little young, but it's not a big problem. When the role was decided, Yan Li started growing a beard and adding makeup to meet the requirements of the role.

In fact, according to the setting of the drama "Bright Sword", Sun Desheng followed Shi Yousan at the age of twelve. He fought for more than ten years, but later he did not want to be a traitor and joined the Eighth Route Army. He died in the anti-mopping-up campaign in 1942.

So Sun Desheng should be in his twenties, at most in his early thirties.

Yan Li’s age is actually not that far off, but the soldiers of that era had experienced many battles and must have looked old, so he couldn’t look too young.

Because he has fewer scenes, Yan Li doesn't need to rush to join the crew for the time being. It won't be too late to join the crew in January.

Apart from this, Yan Li did not squeeze other actors into "Bright Sword".

There are only two female characters of sufficient weight, one is Xiuqin and the other is Tian Yu.

Tian Yu is played by Hairun's newcomer Tong Lei, an old acquaintance of Yan Li and also a friend. It was thanks to her that the information about "Bright Sword" was triggered.

More importantly, he heard that Zhou Yiwei and he were very popular in that Haiyan drama, and Zhou even asked him about Tong.

Maybe she would be his "brother's sister" in the future. Yan Li hesitated for a moment and did not seize the opportunity from her.

However, Yan Li was a little confused. Zhou Yiwei had watched "Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties", but he fell in love with Tong Lei, which made it even more difficult for him to watch the drama.

As for Xiuqin, the director clearly said that he wanted to find an actress who was not very good-looking and more rustic and simple.

None of the people recommended by Yan Li were suitable, so they had to give up.

Lin Jiachuan and the others also have their own roles to play, and they don’t have any outstanding roles, and they don’t necessarily have to act in "Drawing Sword".

...

Just as the filming of "Bright Sword" started, the promotion of "The Emperor of Han Wu" and "The Seven Fairies" also began.

Both dramas have been scheduled.

One is CCTV's opening drama of the year, which premieres in early January, and the other targets students on winter vacation and will premiere in late January.

As the lead actor + lead actor/producer, Yan Li had to make appearances in the promotions for both dramas.

I first went to CCTV Channel 8 to participate in "Film and Television Synchronous Sound", and then went to Shandong Satellite TV's "Sunshine Expressway" and Tianjin Satellite TV's "Variety Food Street".

There are relatively few variety shows these days.

It is not so bad for terrestrial channels in the province, but satellite TV stations face national competition and may only have a few programs a week.

Many programs are broadcast on terrestrial channels, and then a certain episode with high ratings is selected and broadcast on satellite TV.

Therefore, many crews nowadays do not have the habit of appearing on variety shows for pre-promotion before the TV series is broadcast.

On the one hand, it is not given enough attention, as most crews don’t quite understand this aspect; on the other hand, it is simply a lack of ability.

You can't just appear on TV variety shows whenever you want. Many crews have to entrust distributors to even sell their shows, not to mention promotion. If you want to appear on someone else's TV station, they won't let you.

The crews that can appear on various shows before the show is broadcast are those that attract much attention, have topics to discuss, and are willing to be invited by TV stations and program crews.

For example, "The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" and "My Fair Princess 3" were frequently invited to variety shows before and during their broadcast.

Ordinary crews usually have the TV station cut a few trailers or play a few interview videos of the main creators, and then broadcast it.

However, if a TV series becomes popular, some programs will actively look for crew members to do programs to capitalize on the popularity.

"Conquer" was like that before. No one paid any attention to it. But after it became popular, some interview shows asked the crew to record interviews.

"The Seven Fairies" is not the most popular crew in the industry, but it is not bad either. It has been reported in many reports and can be mentioned in various reviews.

More importantly, Yan Li attaches great importance to publicity and exposure. When negotiating the contract, he specifically sought opportunities to promote his show on variety shows from various satellite TV stations.

Therefore, the promotional task of "The Seven Fairies" is quite heavy.

There are seven or eight TV variety shows or interviews of all sizes, more than half of which are broadcast on satellite TV, and the rest are provincial channels targeting audiences in a province.

Although the promotion was quite tiring, most of the main creators of "The Seven Fairies" were very cooperative.

It would be strange if they didn't cooperate. Except for a few, others don't usually have the chance to appear on satellite TV variety shows, which is a rare opportunity to show themselves.

But precisely because everyone cooperated so well, a new trouble arose.

There are too many main actors in "The Seven Fairies", and the scene is too large when they all appear together, which distracts attention and makes it difficult to coordinate schedules.

Yan Li decided on several groups, either a team of men, a team of women, or several couples, 4 to 8 people each time, and randomly assigned them according to the schedule.

This not only meets the publicity needs, but also ensures that everyone can show their faces as much as possible.

At the same time, he also had a selfish motive, which was to put the big gimmick of the Seven Fairies on the Spring Festival Gala.

So when "The Seven Fairies" was being promoted, the seven fairies could not be gathered together intentionally or unintentionally. Usually three or four appeared at the same time, and the most was five.

The purpose is scarcity.

If you just casually gather the seven fairies together and show them on all the major variety shows, what surprise and value would there be?

Later, when he even found out that he had a role to play on the Spring Festival Gala, Yan Li simply played the role of no more than three fairies each time and never appeared in ancient costume.

Some of the Seven Fairies were dissatisfied with this, but when they heard that Yan Li was working hard to get them on the Spring Festival Gala, their dissatisfaction disappeared in an instant.

Spring Festival Gala!
Today, it is the best and highest evening party stage in the country. Countless popular stars and big names are lining up to appear on the Spring Festival Gala and in front of the national audience.

Even the most popular double soldiers could not resist this temptation.

In other words, for popular young actresses to appear on the Spring Festival Gala is itself a plus, proving that they are popular enough.

Among the four little beauties, Xiaoyanzi, Zhou Gongzi and Zhang Ziyi all performed on the Spring Festival Gala when their careers were at their peak. Only the maverick Xu Jinglei does not have this experience.

Although the Seven Fairies will be performing together, since it is also the Spring Festival Gala, Fan Xiaopang and Li Bingbing have expressed great enthusiasm and tried their best to squeeze out time to cooperate.

Not to mention others, Jiang Xin turned down a drama for this, and Li Lin even took part in the film while pregnant.

That's right, this girl is pregnant.

Fortunately, her belly is not yet noticeable, otherwise Yan Li would have thought of finding someone to replace her.

Even so, because Li Lin was pregnant, some ideas such as flying dances with wires were forced to be abandoned, and the approach of light singing and slow dancing was adopted, which just happened to reflect the elegance and ethereal spirit of a fairy...

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ps: One update today, and 10,000 updates tomorrow and the day after tomorrow
(End of this chapter)