Huayu 2011: Starting with Hilarious Men

China is a society based on personal relationships, where interpersonal connections are built through mutual interaction.

Although Wei Zheng and Zheng Nan were not alumni, all the alumni of the Shanghai Theatre Academy that Zheng Nan found were in his film crew.

If you, Zheng Nan, ask us to do a cameo role, we won't charge you. If we ask you to do a cameo role, you shouldn't charge us either.

"I'm a fan of 'iPartment,' so of course I'd be interested in making a cameo appearance."

"There's a stylist role in Love Trilogy, would you be willing to make a cameo appearance?"

"Stylist?" Zheng Nan couldn't recall for a moment. Was there such a character in Love Apartment 3?

"He's a fashion stylist, very handsome, and he attracts Yifei, Yumo, Meijia..." Wei Zheng briefly introduced the character.

Zheng Nan now knew who it was; the original version was from "Armor Hero".

"Not satisfied? There are other characters, such as Guan Gu's amazing senior brother, or we can add another character for you."

"iPartment" is an episodic sitcom, and it's easy to insert a character into one or several episodes.

Zheng Nan recalled the comments from her Weibo followers and suggested, "Why don't I play Zheng Nan, but not the real me, but the me in 'Hilarious Men'?"

It will be nothing new for film and television works to surprise audiences by breaking down the barriers between dimensions.

For example, Alfred Hitchcock made cameo appearances as extras in as many as 39 of his films.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse brings together six Spider-Men from different parallel universes.

Bill Gates appeared as himself in the season six finale of the American TV series "Silicon Valley," commenting on the successes and failures of the startups featured in the show.

The protagonist of the Deadpool series, "Deadpool," takes "breaking the fourth wall" to the extreme, often chatting with the audience in front of the camera.

The classic Chinese sitcoms "My Own Swordsman" and "Story of a Cooking Squad" have also engaged in similar practices due to having the same cast and crew.

Sha Yi, who plays the handsome Hu, performs the Sunflower Acupuncture Technique in "The Story of the Cooking Squad".

In 2011, breaking down the dimensional barrier was a relatively novel form of expression.

"Great idea! You're a young man, your mind works really fast." Wei Zheng genuinely thought Zheng Nan was talented.

"It would be very interesting if Zeng Xiaoxian and Hu Yifei made guest appearances on 'Hilarious Men'," Zheng Nan said, excited about her brilliant idea.

Previously, the scripts that Zheng Nan prepared for Chen He and others were based on their own personalities, similar to the cameo appearance of Jiang Jinfu in the first season.

Now that I've transitioned from being myself to playing a character, the script I prepared beforehand needs to be revised.

Zheng Nan was satisfied after spending an hour revising the script and a whole day filming on the set of "iPartment," reaping a wealth of material.

This trip was worthwhile.

Good marketing can boost both "Hilarious Men" and "iPartment".

"When will Love Apartment 3 be released? Let's coordinate our efforts when it airs and try to get it trending on social media." Zheng Nan discussed this with Wei Zheng before leaving.

"If filming goes smoothly, it should be finished by the end of October. But with post-production and review time, it won't be until the middle of next year at the earliest," Wei Zheng calculated.

The broadcast time of a TV series after it has been filmed is not fixed.

After filming is completed smoothly and there are no problems with the review process, it may be broadcast on television in three to five months.

If filming goes poorly and there are problems with the review process, rectification is required. It is common for a TV series to not be broadcast for one or two years. Some TV series can be shelved for a lifetime.

Wei Zheng has experience and connections from the previous two seasons of "iPartment," and since "iPartment" is a sitcom, it's easy to pass the censorship, which is why he gave the ideal time to broadcast it in the middle of next year.

"What about the second season of 'Hilarious Men'?" Wei Zheng asked rhetorically.

"It should be broadcast by the end of this year."

"Hilarious Men" is a web series, which is subject to more lenient censorship than television dramas, and the second season is exclusively available on Sohu, so airing is not a problem.

"There is indeed a time gap. I'll post on Weibo to help you when 'Hilarious Men' airs." Wei Zheng pointed with his little hand, "I'll help you."

Zheng Nan glanced at Wei Zheng, inwardly thinking, "With all those zombie fans on your Weibo, your Weibo posts to help me are less helpful than just giving me two hundred yuan."

"Is this your manager? He's very handsome and has a lot of masculine charm. Would you like to join him when you make a cameo appearance tomorrow?" Wei Zheng quickly reminded Zheng Nan as she was about to leave.

"This is my uncle, my own uncle. I'll ask for his opinion." Zheng Nan always keeps his promises.

Ding Xiuzheng is chatting with a mature female staff member from the "iPartment" crew.

They seemed to be having a great time chatting and had already started exchanging phone numbers.

"Uncle."

"What's wrong?"

"The director of this production invited me to make a cameo appearance. He thought you looked good, so he asked if I was interested in joining him for a cameo."

Ordinary people are often curious about the entertainment industry, and many have fantasized about acting themselves.

Faced with this suggestion, Ding Xiu was very tempted, but he still gritted his teeth and said, "I'm not interested. It wouldn't be good if my ex-girlfriends saw me on camera."

Ding Xiu made no attempt to hide the mature woman chatting next to him when he said this.

The mature woman next to him didn't even flinch when she heard that her uncle had an ex-girlfriend.

…………

The next day.

Zheng Nan made a guest appearance on the set of "iPartment" as promised.

Wei Zheng handed the revised script to Zheng Nan.

The plot is roughly as follows:

Tang Youyou's acting career is in a slump, and her agency forces her to have dinner with Zheng Nan, a big star who became popular because of "Hilarious Men".

The two were supposed to have paparazzi take photos of them during their dinner on Christmas Eve to create a scandal, in order to get headlines and generate buzz. They even promised to have a chance to compete for the "Philippine Iron Monkey Award".

Zheng Nan took the initiative to invite Youyou for afternoon tea, rehearsing the rumored romance in advance.

Throughout the entire show, Zheng Nan maintained the loser persona from "Hilarious Men," being both greasy and confident.

He made lewd remarks and touched Youyou inappropriately, and even invited her to drink with him privately that night.

Upon seeing the script, Zheng Nan immediately realized that this was the same character played by Hu Ge in the original version, Dino. Wei Zheng had simply given him Hu Ge's role.

"Is everything alright? Is there anything that needs to be changed?" Wei Zheng was quite polite.

"No, we'll do it according to Director Wei's instructions." When you're on someone else's turf, you have to follow their orders. As long as it doesn't involve core interests, Zheng Nan doesn't have much of a temper.

"Youyou, Guangu, come over and rehearse with Teacher Zheng," Wei Zheng called out.

Deng Jiajia ran over quickly: "Teacher Zheng, we're collaborating again."

Wang Chuanjun, walking behind, said shyly, "Please take good care of me, Teacher Zheng."

"Stop teasing me, you two. My junior is waiting for your help."

Among the main cast of "iPartment", Deng Jiajia and Wang Chuanjun have the best acting skills and both have good future prospects.

My aunt's Down syndrome acting style has gained some popularity.

Wang Chuanjun has made numerous memorable contributions to the film industry.