Chinese Entertainment: Directors Start with the Fairy Sister

Chapter 72 Boiling the Frog in Slow Water: Yan Danchen's Discovery!

"I didn't expect Director Zhao to be so humorous, haha."

"But I think Director Zhao and Liu Yifei seem to be quite a good match."

"I suspect they're together?!"

The rumors about Liu Yifei and Zhao Yanxi resurfaced with the graduation ceremony.

However, under the supervision of Yang Siwei and Wang Changtian, no overly negative impact occurred.

These rumors and gossip were part of Zhao Yanxi's little scheme—female celebrities wouldn't stop caring about rumors just because his status had increased.

Only actresses born in the 1970s, like Zhou Xun and Zhang Ziyi, have seen their fans' attitudes towards their relationships shift from resistance to gossip as they get older.

No matter what they are like, fans will only gossip about the man's issues, and will not stop supporting them because of their relationship.

But actresses like Liu Yifei, born in the 1980s, are different; their fan base includes many "husband fans."

Once a relationship is suddenly revealed, it's most likely to cause "husband fans" to leave, leading to a series of problems: a massive loss of fans, a sharp drop in popularity, and ultimately, being abandoned by investors...

With Zhao Yanxi around, Liu Yifei has nothing to fear about lacking resources.

However, having resources doesn't guarantee market acceptance. High-end endorsements don't just consider your resources; they also value your brand awareness and fan loyalty.

Therefore, Zhao Yanxi chose a strategy of gradually revealing the relationship to the public, like slowly boiling a frog in water.

Let the rumors circulate a hundred times, and when the truth is revealed, everyone will just smile knowingly and say, "Just as I expected."

With June approaching, the Shanghai Film Festival is drawing ever closer.

Invitations had already been sent to the company—not only domestic companies like Yanxi Films, but also international companies like Crystal Films.

After all, Buried was an award-winning film at this year's Berlin Film Festival.

However, neither Zhao Yanxi nor Paul were particularly interested in coming.

The copyrights have all been sold, so what's the point of doing any more promotion?

However, Yang Siwei hadn't been able to find anything out about the previous scandal involving Xiao Liu, which surprised Zhao Yanxi.

"Boss, although the other party is being discreet, once they make a move, there will definitely be clues!" Yang Siwei said in a deep voice.

"Whoever smears, benefits. I don't believe there's any smear campaign without a reason."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yanxi suddenly had a thought, and the phone call from Wang Zhonglei unconsciously came to mind.

There's no investment available;

We need roles, but there aren't any.

If we're talking about motives for smearing someone, Hua Yi is definitely on the list, not to mention that the other party has a criminal record, although that was in a previous life.

"You should keep an eye on Huayi; I have a feeling they're involved in this whole thing!"

"Huayi?"

Yang Siwei was somewhat surprised, but seeing Zhao Yanxi's confident expression, she obediently nodded.

Zhao Yanxi gathered the main creators of "Painted Skin" together in Beijing.

Liu Yifei brought Shu Chang along as well. Filming for "The Deer and the Cauldron" won't start until August.

Jiao Enjun and Yan Danchen are acquaintances, Jiao Enjun and Shu Chang are also acquaintances, and Shu Chang and Liu Yifei are best friends. All things considered, except for the opening ceremony, everyone is an acquaintance.

"Sissi, you've been busy working on your album for the past six months, it's time to get back to work!"

"Don't worry, director," Liu Yifei said earnestly, "I've been sleeping with the script under my pillow this month, and I definitely won't let everyone down."

"That's good."

Zhao Yanxi nodded in satisfaction and then introduced Ning Hao and Ding Lang to everyone.

"Director Ning Hao, you should all be familiar with him, the latest director with a box office of over 100 million yuan!" Zhao Yanxi said with a smile.

"Director Zhao, Director Zhao, don't embarrass me," Ning Hao waved his hands repeatedly, "What kind of big director am I in front of you?"

"Hehe," Zhao Yanxi chuckled, neither confirming nor denying, "Ding Lang, the director of 'First Love,' although it hasn't been released yet, I personally feel that it should easily gross tens of millions at the box office."

"They are the two assistant directors of 'Painted Skin,' and they will be assisting me in directing it!"

"Okay, director!"

Everyone greeted Ning Hao and Ding Lang, saying, "Director Ning, Director Ding!"

"Director Ning, Director Ding..."

These two weren't asked by Zhao Yanxi to help; they were just bored and decided to come and help out, to see how a big production was filmed, and to earn some director's fees along the way.

Zhao Yanxi certainly wouldn't refuse. Although the company also had assistant directors and executive directors, having more people to share the work would lighten her workload, so why not?

Aside from Zhang Jin and Jiao Enjun, Wang Kai, who played the lizard demon, was from the Central Academy of Drama, while everyone else was a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy. They got to know each other as they chatted, and the overall atmosphere of the crew was quite good.

Zhao Yanxi was also somewhat speechless—no wonder netizens call themselves "direct descendants of Beijing Film Academy," since almost everyone from the lead actors to the directing team is from the film academy...

There's nothing I can do about it. I was a film school graduate in my previous life, so I have a natural affinity for actors who come from academies.

"We'll be heading to Ning Province in two days. We still have a few days to go with the weapons and props, so we'll film the dialogue scenes first. The company has already sent people over to build the sets..."

'

The day before departure, at Beijing Airport.

Yang Siwei successfully received the special effects team from Crystal Pictures, a moment captured by the waiting media and quickly making headlines in the entertainment section.

[The film "Painted Skin" has hired a Hollywood special effects team at great expense, and filming is about to begin!]

Upon hearing the news, netizens expressed a mix of skepticism and anticipation: "The story may be old, but Director Zhao always manages to bring something new to the table."

"With a Hollywood team involved, the visual effects should be guaranteed."

"But can Liu Yifei really handle playing a fox demon?"

After the entire crew assembled, they chartered a business jet and flew directly from Beijing to Ningxia.

During the flight, Zhao Yanxi explained the work of the special effects team to everyone: "In the movie, the fox demon's transformation, heart-picking, skin-painting, and important fight scenes all require the special effects team to create models based on your facial molds. Then, by combining your height and body shape to create special effects templates, we can make the scenes look realistic and not jarring."

He added with certainty, "Crystal Pictures' team may not be comparable to top companies like Industrial Light & Magic or Weta Digital, but their technology and equipment are absolutely top-notch in Southeast Asia."

Sitting next to Liu Xiaoli and Liu Yifei, Yan Danchen didn't care about the special effects. Her name, Pei Rong, didn't have any special effects, but the word "crystal" sounded very familiar.

Yan Danchen was going to act alongside Liu Yifei and Jiao Enjun. She was familiar with the latter, having worked with him on "Lotus Lantern." As for Liu Yifei, Yan Danchen had done thorough research on her.

Of course, I know her English name "Crystal," which translates to "crystal"!

"Hmm? It seems so—" Liu Yifei suddenly realized.

I rarely use my English name after returning to China, and it was only after being reminded that I remembered this connection.

Liu Xiaoli caught a glimpse of the two whispering, and a hint of relief flashed across her eyes as she glanced at Zhao Yanxi—it was truly rare to see someone who cared about every detail of their daughter's life.

Yan Danchen gave Liu Yifei and Zhao Yanxi a deep look.

Despite the rumors of a romance between the two circulating at the film academy and online, she remained skeptical: with Liu Yifei's soaring popularity and fame, why would she be dating at this time?

However, during the few days that the crew gathered to read the script together, Yan Danchen unexpectedly discovered that there seemed to be something going on between the two of them.

Considering this "Crystal Pictures," Yan Danchen had no choice but to believe—the rumors online were actually true!

"How lucky!"

Looking at Liu Yifei's charming and lively profile, Yan Danchen couldn't quite tell her apart for a moment.

She was marveling at how Liu Yifei had won the favor of a great director, which led to her brilliant career.

I still envy Zhao Yanxi for being young and having a celestial companion!

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