Top Chinese celebrity: Debuted from Running Man

Chapter 141 Male Lead (Fourth Update)
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The news that Zhao Liying had joined the cast of "The Mystic Nine" was released.

Fans of "The Journey of Flower" cheered with joy.
As the finale approaches, the TV ratings for "The Journey of Flower" still haven't surpassed those of "The Empress of China."

However, the online viewership data shows an overwhelming dominance!
A large portion of the audience, especially fans of the couple Sha Qianmo and Hua Qiangu, are undoubtedly very happy to see them collaborate again.

Gu Qing's fans were equally moved and left messages of gratitude on Zhao Liying's account.

Some fans familiar with "The Mystic Nine" expressed their incomprehension.

"Is the younger brother playing Er Yuehong?"
"But I remember the main character of The Mystic Nine was Buddha, wasn't he?"

"How can Gu Qing, a top star, be a supporting actor to Chen Weiting?"

"It's supposed to be a dual male lead story, but isn't the main character Buddha?"

The fans cannot accept this.

Especially for career-oriented fans,

People fight tooth and nail to vote for their idols, not to watch them play supporting roles for other artists.

Tao Factory was prepared in advance and issued an announcement explaining: "The opening of this drama will unfold with the background story of Er Yuehong (Gu Qing) and Ya Tou (Zhao Liying), leading book fans into the world of the Old Nine Gates from Er Yuehong's perspective."

The implication of the words was clear: Gu Qing was the male lead.

It was just to save face for Chen Weiting that it wasn't appropriate to say it outright.

Just like "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles," which also features two male protagonists, the only difference is that one is ranked higher than the other in the credits.

Upon seeing this announcement,

Gu Qing's fans were relieved.

Although William Chan's fans were dissatisfied, they didn't dare to cause trouble.

Zhao Liying's official blog post clearly stated: "I'm here to fight alongside Gu Qing."

It's not because of the top-tier celebrity status that a wildly popular A-list actress would go crazy and come to play a supporting role.

at the same time,

Gu Qing's film "Brotherhood of Blades" was quietly scheduled for release this week.

Why do we say it's silent and unnoticed?

"Brother Gu, please help me out!!"

Gu Qing was woken up late at night by a phone call from Lu Yang.

"Brother Lu, what happened?"

Gu Qing moved away from the phone, and after the shouting subsided, he put the phone to his ear and asked in confusion.

"Bro, the production team is out of money for promotion!"

Lu Yang was in unbearable pain.

Typically, the production cost and promotional expenses for a film are split 50/50.

For example, in the film "Brotherhood of Blades 3," which had an investment cost of 30 million, only 15 million could be used for filming, with the other half of the cost going towards promotion.

Even the best wine needs to be advertised.

Therefore, promotion costs cannot be saved.
In some cases, the publicity costs for a film can be one or two times higher than the film's production costs.

The problem Lu Yang is facing now is that he is too meticulous, especially in the final scene of the battle on the grassland.

It was filmed using real locations!
He personally found a herdsman who could ride a horse and polished it again and again.

But what about the end?

Lu Yang found it outrageous that Ding Xiu was wielding a Miao sword and killing a bunch of cavalry.

So they cut out the plot again, leaving it as a blank space.

Equivalent to,
I wasted a lot of money and got nothing in return.

"Brother Lu, so you called me here for a promotion?"

Gu Qing smiled.

"You guessed it, bro. I wanted you to promote it more on your blog."

Lu Yang blushed as red as a monkey's bottom, thankfully the other side of the phone couldn't see it. "Your role is definitely not small now, I've already promoted you to at least the second male lead, so please help me out."

"My drama is released, I will definitely help to share it, Brother Lu, don't worry."

Gu Qing asked doubtfully, "But is this kind of publicity enough?"

Even as a top influencer, he wouldn't dare to be so confident that he could persuade all his fans to buy movie tickets to support him just by promoting his blog.

The films produced by the Wu and Lu families all had promotional costs that exceeded production costs.

“Brother, I can’t think of any other way. If it weren’t for the fact that the investors were willing to invest more money after you joined, I would have almost run out of money to make posters.”

Lu Yang said with a troubled expression, "Brother, you're smart and a top influencer, can you think of a solution for me?"

"I'd even beg on the street if it meant getting the show trending on social media!"

It's so frustrating when you don't have enough money to make a movie!
I really wish I could spend hundreds of millions like those big directors.

"Brother Lu, getting on the trending topics list isn't easy; many of them require paying money."

Gu Qing understood perfectly why the highly acclaimed "Brotherhood of Blades" from his previous life had flopped at the box office.

If you spend all your money on making movies, who else will fail if you don't?
"Brother Lu, you should go to sleep early. I'll come back and help you think of a solution."

Gu Qing hung up the phone.

Once you click on the WeChat account, you'll see a dense stream of messages from senders.

Just one glance at it triggers my trypophobia.

Luckily, everyone here is a celebrity and knows they're too busy to reply to messages, so no one cares.

"Shall we promote it on WeChat Moments?"

Gu Qing shook her head in rejection again, thinking that this was just too foolish.

He leaned against the headboard, replying to his friends' messages one by one.

Until a message from a stranger appeared.

Bilibili's "Uncle": "Teacher Gu, our platform is planning to hold a large-scale anime convention meet-and-greet event for young people. Could you please record a video message for the fans who support us?"
Regarding the specific price, we will discuss it with your assistant.

Two days have passed since the announcement.

"Comic convention? VCR?"

Gu Qing's eyes lit up slightly as she thought of the flying fish costume she had brought back from the film set as a souvenir from her wardrobe.

As a former blogger who frequented Bilibili, he knows all too well how much money wealthy people in the anime and manga community are willing to spend.

They all come from wealthy families, and even a simple JK uniform costs hundreds or thousands of yuan.

Custom cosplay outfits can cost tens of thousands of yuan.

As a once niche culture, anime culture is no longer a niche topic after these young people have grown up.

"Instead of having the crew go through all the trouble of running around to different cities for commercial performances, it would be better to have them cosplay as imperial guards at comic conventions and appeal to young people."

"In this way, we can both promote traditional culture and let young people learn about new things beyond Japanese anime and manga."

"It's a win-win situation!"

As for trending topics, that's even easier.

Although Abi is small, if the entire site helps with its promotion, the effect will be significant.

At least it's much better than Lu Yang crying and begging for help on the phone.

Gu Qing replied to 'Uncle' with a message, "Can I come and have some fun myself?"

……

With a "thump,"
The uncle, unable to sleep, fell off the bed.

"Rice! I see rice!!"

The man's eyes lit up, his breathing became rapid, and his fingers trembled with excitement. "Teacher Gu... Teacher Gu, are you telling the truth?"

Messages are replied to almost instantly.
Gu Qingguang appeared for only one second at the comic convention.
Even I can't imagine how big a sensation this will cause.

"Yes, I recently filmed a new movie called 'Brotherhood of Blades' which is about to be released. I'm taking advantage of the comic convention to cosplay and promote traditional culture."

Would your website be willing to cooperate?

"Cooperation! We definitely need to cooperate!!"

The uncle clutched his pounding heart with excitement, "Teacher Gu, just name your suggestions for cooperation, and we'll absolutely cooperate!"

He'd be happy to turn this comic convention into a performance of "Brotherhood of Blades"!

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(End of this chapter)