Huayu: Starting with mentoring female stars

On such an important occasion, Zhu Yilong, Wang Jingchun, Chen Minghao, and others who live in Kyoto naturally all attended.

In the meeting hall, Chen Zhou first showed the trailer for "The Nameless" to the reporters present.

And I briefly talked about the character design of each character and the core charm of each character.

Soon, it was time for the reporters' questions.

Chen Zhou sat in the main seat, with the female lead Liu Yifei to his left.

The simple white dress accentuated her cool and aloof demeanor, giving her an inherently gentle and endearing quality.

Reporters in the audience held up microphones, and countless cameras were pointed at the main cast and crew.

"Hello Director Chen, I'm a reporter from Southern Metropolis Entertainment Weekly," a female reporter wearing glasses asked first.

"We understand that 'The Unknown' tells the story of the struggles and redemption of ordinary people at the bottom of society."

"Liu Yifei's previous roles were mostly ethereal and fairy-like characters, such as Little Dragon Girl and Wang Yuyan."

"This time she is taking on the challenge of playing a small, ordinary person with a strong sense of everyday life. Many viewers feel that it is impossible for an actress like her to play such a character, and they say that this will be the biggest flaw in the film."

"Regarding these criticisms, as the director, what do you think of her performance?"

Were there any surprising moments during the filming?

Hearing such a pointed question, Liu Yifei looked somewhat annoyed.

These reporters are always like this; they always target her.

Chen Zhou replied:

"Actually, when casting, many people questioned whether Yifei could handle such a role, after all, her previous screen image was too deeply rooted in people's minds."

"But what I see is her versatility, that seemingly fragile yet resilient quality, which perfectly matches the female lead Ma Jiaqi in our film."

"At the same time, she gave many amazing performances on set, and I am very satisfied with her."

As soon as he finished speaking, a soft murmur arose from the audience.

Liu Yifei turned her head and gave Chen Zhou a grateful smile.

"Hello, I'm a reporter from Sina Entertainment." Another reporter stood up and asked, "Director Chen just praised your performance as amazing. Did you encounter any difficulties while portraying this character?"

Liu Yifei took the microphone, her voice gentle yet firm:

"There were definitely difficulties. At the beginning, I found it hard to find the state of an ordinary person. I always felt that my words and actions still carried the shadow of my previous roles."

"But with Director Chen's help, I quickly got close to the character of Ma Jiaqi. I would also like to express my special thanks to Director Chen."

"So what do you think is the biggest gain from working with Director Chen?" the reporter asked.

Liu Yifei turned to look at Chen Zhou, her eyes sincere:

"The biggest gain was breaking through my own limitations. Director Chen is an exceptionally patient director. He would help me analyze the inner world of the character step by step and tell me how to express emotions."

"Sometimes when I hit a roadblock, he doesn't directly negate me, but guides me to find the answer myself."

"Working with him, I learned to interpret characters in a more delicate way, and it also gave me a new understanding of acting."

At that moment, Chen Zhou and Liu Yifei exchanged a knowing glance.

It was this fleeting eye contact that prompted reporters to snap photos.

The eye contact between the handsome man and the beautiful woman is so vivid.

They could be used as a news cover if you just took any photo of them.

Then a foreign reporter asked Chen Zhou, "Why is the venue for today's press conference so simply set up? Doesn't Director Chen value today's press conference?"

Chen Zhou replied casually, "Why not have a hamburger?"

"What?" The foreign reporter couldn't understand at all.

"There's an old Chinese saying, 'Why not eat meat porridge?' It means that what you think is easy may be very difficult for others. My film's funding was mostly used for the film itself, so it's normal for the press conference to be a bit simple," Chen Zhou explained.

The foreign reporter seemed to understand but not quite, and just kept nodding.

Next, the reporter interviewed Zhu Yilong and others.

The press conference lasted for two hours before it ended.

Then, Chen Zhou posted the trailer for "The Nameless" directly online.

Video platforms include Tudou, Youku, 56.com, and so on.

And places like Baidu Tieba, Tianya Community, and Douban groups.

In short, we should promote it as much as possible.

Since everyone hadn't seen each other for a long time, Chen Zhou took it upon himself to treat everyone to a meal.

By evening, the online promotional effect of the trailer had already begun to show.

On some platforms, trailers have become a hot topic.

Furthermore, there has been a lot of discussion online about the trailer itself.

"After watching Chen Zhou's graduation short film, I said directly that he should shine and become a film director. I didn't expect him to actually do it. Now I'm really afraid that he will succeed. My eyes are almost red."

"This trailer is really well-edited. After watching it, I feel that this movie won't be too bad."

"I'm not saying this to be mean, but the production team of 'The Unknown' is really too unknown. I only know Liu Yifei."

"To put it bluntly, I actually saw acting skills in Liu Yifei in this trailer..."

"To be objective, as a die-hard fan of Liu Yifei, I know that she used to only be able to play roles with stable emotions. If she played a slightly more difficult role, her acting skills would be exposed in an instant. But she seems to be really different in this movie."

"This shows that the director of 'The Unknown' is ridiculously strong, even able to motivate Liu Yifei's acting skills."

"For such a low-budget film to be released during the fiercely competitive Lunar New Year season is practically suicide."

...

The trailer for "The Unknown" has remained incredibly popular online.

This was exactly what Chen Zhou expected, since when he edited the film, he specifically cut out only a small part that would pique the audience's interest, without revealing the core content.

In this way, the audience will naturally have a sense of anticipation.

Editing trailers is an art!

Afterwards, as the Lunar New Year film season reached its peak, a number of big-budget movies were released one after another.

On December 13, "The Warlords" was released.

On December 20, "Assembly" was released.

soon.

By December 27th.

That night.

The premiere of "The Unknown" is underway at an international cinema in Beijing.

At first glance, a red carpet stretches from the entrance of the cinema all the way inside, with giant posters of "The Unknown" hanging on both sides.

The words "Directed by Chen Zhou, starring Liu Yifei and others" on the poster are particularly eye-catching.

Chen Zhou, along with Liu Yifei, Zhu Yilong, and other members of the main creative team, stood at the entrance of the red carpet to welcome the guests.

Events like this are specifically for film promotion, so many people are invited.

For example, celebrities, school teachers, relatives and friends.

Some premiere screenings are reserved specifically for fans.

For example, the venue provided for Liu Yifei's fans was fully booked in no time.

To show respect, Chen Zhou wore a formal suit, which was unusual for him.

Standing tall and upright on the outermost side of the main creative team, he occasionally whispered to the producer next to him about matters on set.

Liu Yifei wore her hair up and a red mini-skirt, making her look particularly mature.

Her simple attire still made her the most stunning woman in the room.

"Feifei!"

A clear shout rang out.

Liu Yifei looked in the direction of the sound and saw Shu Chang and Zhang Liangying walking quickly towards her.