Chinese Entertainment: Directors Start with the Fairy Sister

I woke up to a flood of messages!

Zhao Yanxi replied to a few people she was close to as usual.

Besides congratulations and well wishes, there were also many invitations for cooperation from companies such as Yinghuang, Huayi, and Bona.

Despite their success in China, few people know their names when they go abroad.

Zhao Yanxi's ability to go abroad and establish herself in Hollywood naturally makes her someone they want to rely on.

However, they wanted to rely on Zhao Yanxi to go to sea, but they had no conditions that could attract Zhao Yanxi.

Artists? Funding? Or distribution channels?

Faced with these invitation messages, Zhao Yanxi didn't even bother to read the details. She simply selected all and cleared them with one click!

...

After finishing her workout and having breakfast, Zhao Yanxi went straight to the company—it was definitely still dark at this hour; when there were no events, she would sleep until she was completely awake.

Event organizers generally don't schedule events in the morning; whether it's an endorsement or a program interview, they'll usually arrange it in the afternoon.

A couple of days ago, I filmed an endorsement video for an online game.

It is said that the client was inspired by the game "Chinese Paladin" and contacted Liu Xiaoli for several months before finally reaching an agreement.

The initial endorsement fee was as high as seven figures, and later, with the release of "You Are the Apple of My Eye", the endorsement fee increased by 40%!

Yesterday, after showing off her earnings to Zhao Yanxi, Liu Yifei also shared a set of promotional photos she had taken – she was dressed in costumes of game characters, such as Feathered Archer, Feathered Spirit, and Fairy.

It's ethereal and beautiful.

. . . . . .

"Director Zhao!"

"Director Zhao..."

"Director Zhao—"

Upon arriving at the company, everyone showed Zhao Yanxi noticeably more respect, even Ning Hao feigned respect by addressing him as "Director Zhao!"

"Haozi, are you sick?"

"Hehe," Ning Hao chuckled, "Isn't this just to show some respect to Hollywood directors who earn hundreds of millions of dollars?"

"Come on," Zhao Yanxi rolled her eyes, looking at the somewhat crowded editing room where several people were typing away, and asked, "How's the editing of 'Stone' going?"

"That's about it. In a few more days, there shouldn't be any problems. Editing this kind of film is very quick."

"Um."

Zhao Yanxi nodded: "After the final cut, we'll edit a trailer and start online marketing."

The reason why "Stone" suffered in its previous life was because of its poor marketing. Production costs were tight, so where would there be money for marketing? At the same time, it was also competing with "Mission: Impossible III" and the "Superman" series.

With fewer big-budget films competing during this year's May Day holiday, and Yang Siwei personally in charge of marketing, Zhao Yanxi believes that "Stone" will definitely be a surprise at the box office!

"Boss, I've looked into this matter, but I haven't found any solid evidence," Yang Siwei said with frustration. "However, I specifically asked a hacker expert to check the IP addresses of those trolls."

"A significant portion of these overlaps with the online trolls behind 'Yang Decai's Marriage Proposal' and 'Blue and White Porcelain.' I suspect that Song Dazui has some connection to Juli Film & Television!"

"Yoko~ No wonder."

Zhao Yanxi smiled. This was just her own mute girl falling from grace, and she couldn't stand the thought of other fairies being pure and innocent!

"Keep an eye on Yoko and Huang Shengyi, give them something to do!"

Since the marketing campaign for "You Are the Apple of My Eye" began, Yang Siwei has gradually cultivated a group of online troll leaders and contacted a group of paparazzi, which is a good opportunity to give them something to do.

Zhao Yanxi remembered that Yangzi and Huang Shengyi were getting married next year, and they must have been dating very much these past few years~

. . . . . .

After spending the morning at the company dealing with the accumulated documents and invitations, Zhao Yanxi went directly to the Film Academy.

Although it's only the beginning of the year, the film academy has already been making headlines.

There's a positive side, like Zhao Yanxi from a vocational college who was nominated for Berlin and then shocked Hollywood with a horror film; but there's also a negative side, like Zhang Yimou's latest "Mou Girl"—from the Central Academy of Drama.

This caused public opinion to overwhelmingly turn in favor of the film academy.

If you say he chose someone with experience, that's one thing, since the teaching quality of the Central Academy of Drama's acting department is indeed higher than that of the academy; but he just happened to use students from the 05 class of the acting department's vocational program who hadn't even acted in a film yet!

...

Zhao Yanxi is now quite prestigious among alumni of the Beijing Film Academy. Even with a mask on, she was still recognized by a group of sharp-eyed junior students.

Walking on campus, you'll hear someone stop and greet you almost every minute, and you'll bump into familiar faces every few dozen meters.

"Director Zhao!"

"Senior Yan Xi—"

"Yan Xi!"

Several familiar calls came from afar. Zhao Yanxi looked in the direction of the sound and saw Yang Mi leading two familiar girls, running quickly from a distance.

After confirming it was him, Yang Mi couldn't hide her surprise and delight: "Yan Xi, it really is you!"

"Honey, it's been a long time," Zhao Yanxi replied with a smile.

Although the two haven't seen each other often since filming wrapped on "The Return of the Condor Heroes," Zhao Yanxi and Yang Mi, as partners in their first collaboration after his rebirth, have maintained a good relationship.

More importantly, he had not yet become the "President Yang" who would later become a constant source of controversy and frequently make headlines for his popularity and status. He still retained a bit of naivety and frankness, and did not show much scheming or calculation.

Otherwise, Zhao Yanxi could choose not to be friends with him.

"Yan Xi—oh no, now I should call you Director Zhao!" Yang Mi winked playfully.

"Call me whatever you want," Zhao Yanxi chuckled. "What are you doing here at this hour? Don't you have class?"

"I just finished class," she laughed. "Someone in the group chat said you were here, so we rushed over to catch a glimpse of the great director!"

"What is there to admire about me?" Zhao Yanxi shook her head helplessly and pointed in the direction of the School of Management. "You can come to the company for a visit when you have time. I have some things to take care of here and need to go over there first."

"Okay, then you go ahead and get busy~"

After Zhao Yanxi walked away, Zhang Xiaofei couldn't help but exclaim, "Mimi, you and Director Zhao have a really good relationship!"

"Of course~" Yang Mi raised her chin slightly, her tone carrying a hint of pride.

If it weren't for the sudden appearance of Little Dragon Girl, the role of "Shen Jiayi" might have been hers.

Yuan Shanshan also came over and took Yang Mi's arm, saying in a coquettish tone, "MiMi, you must take us with you next time you go to Director Zhao's company! We also want to see the world~"

"That depends on how you perform~"

"You little devil, so you're already 'forgetting your friends for the sake of beauty,' huh? Take this—the Dragon Claw Hand!"

……

Zhao Yanxi didn't notice the girls playing around behind her and walked straight towards the School of Management.

His purpose for this trip was clear—to recruit talent in advance for the company's future development.

University graduates from the early 2000s, especially those from specialized institutions like the Beijing Film Academy, have extremely high academic qualifications. Those who successfully obtain their degrees generally possess solid professional skills.

Among numerous art schools, the Beijing Film Academy's acting department may not be the only one that stands out, but its behind-the-scenes programs, such as the literature department, the fine arts school, the animation school, and the management school, are top-notch.

As the company continues to grow, it becomes especially important to establish good relationships with these behind-the-scenes professionals, such as teachers and students, in advance.

As a representative alumnus of Beijing Film Academy in recent years, Zhao Yanxi returned to the school with the sincerity of solving the employment problem for the college, which naturally received a positive response from the teachers of various departments.

With the support of several teachers, Zhao Yanxi returned to the Little White Building with satisfaction.

"You're the most worry-free person," Mu Deyuan remarked. "No matter what, you always remember to use your own people."

Zhao Yanxi sensed the implication in his words about Zhang Yimou's casting preferences, but simply smiled slightly.

Along the way, he had heard school leaders and teachers discuss the matter more than once.

However, he couldn't very well agree with anything.

Previously, he mostly directed youth-themed films that didn't require high acting skills, so casting students from the Beijing Film Academy wasn't unusual.

However, if he needs actors with more solid acting skills when making art films or big productions in the future, he will most likely still look for suitable candidates from the Central Academy of Drama.

It must be admitted that the Central Academy of Drama is indeed more reassuring in terms of actors' basic skills.

Although directing actors is one of the director's responsibilities, in the midst of the complexities of filming, it is a great blessing for a director to encounter actors with mature acting skills who do not require much guidance.

"When directors cast actors, they ultimately look at how well the actor fits the role, and it has little to do with the actor's alma mater."

Zhao Yanxi offered an explanation to Zhang Yimou, which could also be seen as a way of explaining her own potential future casting choices.

"If those old professors in the performing arts department heard you say that, they'd probably give you a long lecture."

"Hehe, well, that's none of my business~"