Reborn in the Chinese Entertainment Industry: You're a Director, But You're a Casanova?

Noon, at a high-end coffee shop.

Liu Yuehua sat in a booth, glanced at the Blue Mountain coffee on the menu at 168 yuan a cup with a pained expression, and finally gritted his teeth and ordered a free lemonade.

Not long after, a young woman wearing a tight black fitted knit top and high heels walked in.

In 03, Zhuzhu was only 19 years old and was a student at Beijing University of Technology and Business.

However, with her charming face, slender figure, fluent English, and a tiny, insignificant connection, she has already made a name for herself in the fashion industry and even signed a contract as a freelance writer for a mainstream media outlet.

Red Boy, with his family background, ambition, and ability to leverage his strengths to climb the social ladder, is simply the best partner for collaboration.

After all, in their eyes, the ups and downs of the entertainment industry are nothing but trivial matters, and waiters are just servants...

"Director Liu, you're such a busy man."

"The entire internet is criticizing your movie right now, and you still have the leisure to invite me for tea?"

Zhuzhu gracefully sat down opposite him, beckoned to order the most expensive latte, and stared at Liu Yuehua with a pair of alluring peach blossom eyes, both shy and timid.

Liu Yuehua didn't have time to look at her cleavage; he was too heartbroken to breathe because of that latte.

To prevent Zhuzhu from ordering anything like cakes again, he got straight to the point:

"Sister Zhu, do you want to become the editor-in-chief of the entertainment channel through your own efforts?"

Zhu Zhu chuckled softly.

"Director Liu, empty promises won't work on me. Just say what you want to say."

"Great idea." Liu Yuehua took an envelope out of his briefcase and handed it to Zhuzhu.

Zhuzhu didn't open it, she said with a smile.

"Isn't bribing people in a coffee shop a bit too blatant?"

Liu Yuehua sneered inwardly, "Do I need to spend money to deal with you?"

What you second-generation art students want to do most is prove your worth.

"Why don't you open it and take a look?"

When Zhuzhu opened the envelope, she thought there was a check inside, but it turned out to be a printed A4 sheet of paper.

The letter prominently displayed read: "An Open Letter to Senior Figures in the Cultural World and Audiences Nationwide: Regarding the 1000 Million Yuan Bet on Acting Skills."

After scanning only the first two lines, Zhuzhu's expression turned serious.

After she finished reading it word for word, she put down her crossed legs and her breathing became rapid.

With her upbringing and the keen sense of a media professional, she knew all too well the value of this piece of paper.

This is practically a blatant declaration of war against the authority of Beijing's elite circles! They even wagered 1000 million yuan in real money.

Once this letter is sent out, it will absolutely crash the entire website's servers instantly, becoming the biggest breaking news in the entertainment industry this year.

"You're going to exclusively send this to our website?" Zhu Zhu's gaze towards Liu Yuehua changed.

If she can secure this exclusive first release, the editor-in-chief position is practically guaranteed.

"Exclusive." Liu Yuehua imitated Gendo Ikari by crossing his arms.

I'll just buy a pair of glasses later to cover up my menacing aura.

"But I have one condition."

"First, I want the banner recommendation spot at the very top of your website's homepage to remain there for three whole days, and you can't remove it no matter who asks."

"Secondly, I want your pop-up notifications to reach all online users."

Zhu Zhu deliberately made things difficult.

"The homepage banner is a prime spot that's sold to big clients, costing hundreds of thousands a day. I'm just an ordinary freelance writer; I don't have that kind of authority to put you on the banner for free."

"The traffic and clicks generated by posting this letter will double your Google Ads fee."

"Take this letter to Old Zhang from your Fox News. If he doesn't agree, I'll go talk to Old Cao from Langpo."

"I believe that Lao Cao's entertainment editor-in-chief is definitely more decisive than you."

"Wait." Zhuzhu grabbed Liu Yuehua's hand, and the soft and warm touch made Liu Yuehua raise his eyebrows slightly.

Is this woman born with this feature?

Zhuzhu seemed to have made up her mind.

"I'll take this job. Even if I have to go to Boss Zhang's office and sign a pledge, I can guarantee that this letter will be posted on the computer screens of netizens across the country at 8 pm tonight."

She raised her head and gave Liu Yuehua a charming smile, her fingers seemingly unintentionally tracing the back of his hand.

"Director Liu, I've staked everything on you this time. Don't forget me if you have any exclusive stories in the future!"

Liu Yuehua smiled and withdrew his hand, silently complaining to himself.

I wouldn't dare compare myself to you.

If anything happens to you, even the slightest disturbance, all of us will be starving for the rest of our lives.

"Don't worry, Sister Zhu, once it's done, you'll have your share of the spoils."

At 8 p.m. that evening, the banner for a certain car brand GG that was originally displayed on the homepage of a certain website was suddenly replaced with a glaring black image with white text.

The title is both blunt and arrogant, and the font size is astonishingly large.

Liu Yuehua publicly declared war: I'm betting 1000 million on Edison Chen's acting skills, do you dare to accept?

Director Liu originally wanted to use terms like "fireworks" to attract attention, but he considered that these people in the cultural circle might have some PTSD.

Fearing they might be terrified at home upon seeing the headline, I opted for a more subtle and gentler one.

In this day and age, netizens with internet access are still arguing fiercely in forums over a few movie reviews.

The internet is in a phase of mild growth, and who among us has ever seen such a simple, crude, and blatant public relations approach?

Countless netizens clicked on the banner link, and the open letter personally drafted by Liu Yuehua was thus displayed openly to the entire internet.

The wording in the letter wasn't as inflammatory as it was in Berlin; after all, in this place, saying too much can easily be used against you.

I have read all the criticisms of the actors' performances in my film crew published in various media outlets by Mr. Lu and other leading figures in the film criticism field.

The older generation is right to criticize; idol actors do need to be refined.

Young actors such as Edison Chen, Tang Yan, and Wang Baoqiang have indeed been labeled as expressionless by the market since their debut, but this does not mean that they lack acting skills.

Many people don't know that during the filming of "Initial D" in Japan, in order to break the stereotypes of these idol actors...

I took advantage of the time when the crew was off work to shoot a suspense film with the original cast and crew, which relied entirely on dialogue and emotional suspense.

The tentative title is "The Invisible Guest".

Here, I, Liu Yuehua, formally issue a challenge to Senior Lu and all film critics and media reporters who have criticized our film crew.

Three days later, I paid out of my own pocket to book the largest screening room at the Beijing Film Academy.

I invite you all to watch this original film, which has no special effects and is purely about showcasing the actors' basic skills.

After watching, if Mr. Lu and the media present can still say with a clear conscience that the actors I used only know how to make crooked mouths and wide eyes, and have no acting skills whatsoever.

I, Liu Yuehua, immediately donated 1000 million RMB to the Beijing Film Critics Association as a fund to support the development of Chinese film art.

At the same time, I promise that "Initial D" will be withdrawn from release indefinitely, and I will absolutely not pollute domestic cinemas with the cultural garbage you talk about.

I have 1000 million in cash ready; it's up to you all to come to this preview screening.

Less than half an hour after the email was sent, Zhihu's servers almost crashed due to the massive traffic.

Zhuzhu sat in her office, watching the data on the back end rise sharply, and was extremely excited.

With this successful experience, my family can finally relax a bit, right?

"Hello, Director Liu? You shouldn't be resting yet, right?"

"Hello Sister Zhu, I'm waiting for your good news and I can't sleep."

"Want to grab a coffee? I have some genuine imported Blue Mountain coffee at home."