Chapter 632 Nineteen Years

On August 29th, the production team of "The Birth of an Actor" released a message:

We'll be producing a year-end special of "The Birth of an Actor," a fireside chat where we'll discuss this year's films and television dramas, and the art of acting. Feel free to leave a comment about your favorite films or television dramas of the year, especially any lesser-known but enjoyable ones.

As one of the hottest shows of the year, the announcement of "The Birth of an Actor" immediately drew cheers from many fans of the show.

On September 1st, "Jump Up" magazine published the following news:

What were your favorite fiction books this year? What were your favorite nonfiction books? Who was your favorite actor? What were your favorite movies and TV series? Who was your favorite singer? What was your favorite piece of music? We will be distributing questionnaires in our upcoming monthly magazines in September, October, November, and December for a year-end review! We're serious about artsy stuff!

On September 3rd, Yuehu TV, Aurora Video, and Icefield Video jointly announced that they will release the list of the most popular works among platform users at the end of the year.

Subsequently, many media outlets and traditional magazines followed suit.

For a moment, people in the entertainment industry were a little confused.

ha?

These kinds of lists were quite popular back in the television era. There were often selections like the top ten songs of the year and the top ten singers, which were very important honors for singers. But with the rise of the internet age and the decline of traditional music, these things have gradually faded away.

Why are so many media outlets suddenly appearing again, wanting to do year-end reviews?

In an interview, Chen Siqi stated frankly: "Evaluation should be diverse. Everyone can have works they like. Similarly, whether it's a TV station, the media, or an individual, we should all be brave enough to express the works that we or our users like. It's not just about telling everyone, 'Yes, this is our aesthetic preference, this is our attitude,' but also about telling creators who may not have received enthusiastic feedback yet, 'We have seen your work, and we like it.'"

"Why do this? Because diverse evaluations can in turn motivate creators to produce a variety of different works," Chen Siqi said. "Mainstream awards have their preferences, traditional magazines have theirs, online new media certainly have theirs, and individuals also have their own preferences. A hundred schools of thought contend, and listening to all sides leads to clarity. This allows everyone to truly participate in the discussion, so that our reading and watching are not limited to the time it takes to read a book or watch a movie. Exchanges can open up our existing thinking and perspectives, allowing us to see more things that we may not have seen before."

At this moment, many people who had gradually become less willing to speak out online for various reasons were deeply moved.

Yes, when did you start to become unwilling to speak online? And when did you start to tend to hide your opinions and avoid arguing with others?

Because I often feel that summer insects talk about ice and frogs in wells talk about the sea, I simply shut my mouth.

But the purpose of communication is to find like-minded people and to expand one's own world.

Someone asked Chen Siqi: "Is this because of the conflict between the Golden Tripod Awards and Lu Yanhe that you want to establish a new set of evaluation rules outside of the three major awards?"

"This isn't an award, so how can we establish new judging rules?" Chen Siqi said with a smile. "We don't have such grand ambitions, nor is it a credible selection process. I especially hope that various media outlets can join in, and that the results selected by our user base can present a true reflection of audience preferences, unaffected by online trolls and noise. The more media outlets that join, the smaller the voice of any single media outlet will be, and the so-called judging rules will no longer be determined by any one organization. What truly matters is the audience and users of each media outlet."

-

"This is too outrageous." Li Zhibai said to Lu Yanhe in disbelief, "With Chen Siqi doing this, it feels like a major earthquake is about to happen to everyone."

"A major earthquake? That's an exaggeration." Lu Yanhe shook his head. "How could that be?"

Li Zhibai: "No, you know how many film and television companies and producers I've worked with have contacted me, asking if I could know this list in advance, because they want to promote some of their shows."

"Operation?" Lu Yanhe was speechless. "I already said it was chosen by the readers of 'Jump Up' through a vote."

“Others just don’t believe it,” Li Zhibai said.

As they were talking, Lu Yanhe's phone vibrated.

Jump Up magazine has announced a recruitment notice for ten part-time staff members to be responsible for live-streaming the opening of reader letters and recording voting results.

The entire process was broadcast live.

Lu Yanhe handed his phone to Li Zhibai, saying, "You can reply to them now. If you don't believe the result, you can watch the live stream."

Li Zhibai: "Damn, you guys really went all out."

Lu Yanhe: "It's fine."

Li Zhibai: "Only you guys can do this. Only if your magazine has sales of around 300,000 copies can you have a large enough readership to conduct this survey. Otherwise, the sample size wouldn't be large enough."

Lu Yanhe: "Different magazines have different approaches. We conduct reader surveys, while some magazines let their editors nominate and vote, and others invite their authors to nominate and vote."

"That works too."

"It's all just a gimmick anyway. The main purpose is to use this gimmick to let everyone see which good literary and artistic works are worth paying attention to," Lu Yanhe said. "Traditional magazines haven't done an event that has attracted a lot of attention for a long time. I heard that many magazines are quite enthusiastic about participating."

This itself increases interaction between the media and its users, which is a way to enhance user engagement.

Li Zhibai: "It would be too embarrassing if 'Even Faking Death' gets very few mentions."

"What are you thinking? This movie has such a high box office, and your performance received unanimous praise when it was released. Regardless of whether this movie will make it into some people's top ten of the year, your performance will definitely make it into many people's top ten of the year."

The awards ceremony for several major domestic awards is about to begin.

Except for the Golden Tripod Award, which is unique as it is held every summer, the other awards are generally held between October and March of the following year.

Lu Yanhe was also curious whether these discussions about film and television dramas from the public would have an impact on these mainstream awards.

It would be interesting if these choices from the public differed significantly from those of mainstream awards.

Lu Yanhe smiled.

When applying for awards this year, Lu Yanhe didn't hold back at all.

On his own merits, Love Letter won Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay, and Best Director, while Friends won Best Screenplay (Screenplay) and Best Actor.

Perfect timing, one movie and one TV series.

The Golden Tripod Awards have already encountered a major bug; it's unclear what will happen next.

-

That day, Lu Yanhe had a scene to film and arrived at the set early, only to unexpectedly run into an acquaintance.

Liu Bin, editor-in-chief of Television Review.

"Editor-in-Chief Liu." Lu Yanhe went over to greet him with delight.

Liu Bin enthusiastically called out to Yan He, "Wow, what a handsome look!"

Lu Yanhe is now dressed as an ancient scholar.

He smiled sheepishly.

After chatting for a while, Lu Yanhe learned that Liu Bin had come today to discuss a film list with Luo Yuzhong.

TV Review wanted to launch a project called "Top Ten Dramas of the Year by Great Directors," so they approached Law Yu-chung and asked him to list his top ten dramas of the year.

Liu Bin said with a smile, "This was inspired by 'Jump Up.' You guys vote through readers, so we're taking a different approach."

“It’s excellent,” Lu Yanhe said.

Luo Yuzhong glared at Lu Yanhe and said, "You're such a troublemaker, always causing me problems."

Lu Yanhe was taken aback.

Luo Yuzhong's outburst of temper was completely inexplicable, leaving Lu Yanhe utterly bewildered.

However, he immediately apologized, with a smile on his face, "I was wrong, teacher."

Luo Yuzhong gave Liu Bin a helpless look.

"I told you long ago, this kid has a thicker skin than a city wall. If you teach him a lesson, he'll shamelessly apologize to you, his attitude is impeccable, but it doesn't work. He can still do whatever he wants later."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe roughly understood.

Luo Yuzhong probably took advantage of Liu Bin's visit to show Liu Bin this scene.

Don't come nagging him anymore. It won't work. He's already taught Lu Yanhe a lesson. Lu Yanhe is thick-skinned and can't be taught a lesson.

After Lu Yanhe understood, he chuckled to himself, thus solidifying this persona.

Liu Bin smiled but remained silent as he watched the two of them.

Luo Yuzhong added, "I saw the article you wrote on your WeChat public account a couple of days ago. It said that I had been making realistic films for most of my life, but suddenly I switched to making ancient costume and fantasy films, questioning whether I was short of money. That's really unethical."

Liu Bin smiled and waved his hand, "Some kids below wrote some harmless articles that can't shake you in the slightest. Besides, lowering everyone's expectations a little in the early stages, with your ability, wouldn't it be more surprising to see the show produced? I read it, and it didn't make any substantial attacks on you. People will just think that the person who wrote that article is a petty angry young man."

Luo Yuzhong scoffed.

As the two senior figures bickered, Lu Yanhe could only stand aside with a smile, remaining silent.

“Don’t forget what I told you. Organize your thoughts and explain why you like each show,” Liu Bin said. “Don’t hold back. The TV drama market has undergone so many changes over the years. Yemai.com and a few other rating websites have become the only standard for viewers to judge the quality of a show. You are a big director with a huge influence, and your choices can influence many people to re-evaluate the quality of a show.”

Luo Yuzhong: "All that talk is just to get me to help you generate buzz."

Liu Bin said with a smile, "We're just here to make a name for ourselves, but your promotion can drive the progress of this industry."

Luo Yu waved his hand.

Although he seemed very impatient, he still agreed.

Soon after, "Jump Up" sent Lu Yanhe a formal invitation, asking him to list his favorite TV series and movies of the year.

In this line of work, many people are constantly observing the wind direction.

So many media outlets and magazines have been involved, commissioning articles from big names and doing year-end reviews, that this matter hasn't made much of a splash in the public eye, but it has become a hot topic within the industry.

I've been making more phone calls lately.

Ask each other if you have received an invitation from any media outlet to make a list of your top ten films.

As a result, Yuehu TV also announced that they will hold a "Chinese Drama Awards" at the end of the year, inviting ten film critics, ten directors, ten actors, ten screenwriters, ten cinematographers, and ten producers to vote together to select the top ten dramas of the year.

Top-tier players step down.

For no apparent reason, the year-end review trend swept through the entire entertainment industry.

-

"Yes, we invited Chen Bige to shoot the cover of our October issue. She is the undisputed Best Actress in Chinese-language films and one of the most active actresses on the international film scene in recent years."

After fashion magazine "Fashion" announced its October issue cover, Chen Bige's technologically advanced cover received polarized feedback.

Some people like it, some people hate it.

The editor-in-chief seemed to ignore the negative reviews, saying, "I'm very happy to have collaborated with Bige on such a pioneering and widely acclaimed film. Actually, in previous years, our domestic film and television industry was somewhat boring, with few new talents emerging. Actresses like Bige, who had already achieved great success, didn't often come out to film. But look at how exciting the entertainment industry has become in recent years, with new talents constantly emerging, and Bige has also delivered several blockbuster hits in a row."

"Especially now, many media outlets are doing annual reviews of films, TV dramas, songs, books, and other works. If you ask me, they should have started doing this a long time ago. If an industry wants to develop well, you can't always wait for the audience to discover good shows. You have to find all sorts of ways to bring good shows to the audience. A review is the best way to do this. What could be more interesting to the public than a ranking list? You support what I support, who ranks higher and who ranks lower. In this kind of competition, the topic and attention will come."

"Yes, we at Fashion Magazine will also be participating in this year-end review extravaganza. We will be soliciting opinions from our readers to select the most popular movies and TV series among our Fashion Magazine readers."

"Of course, I will also pay close attention to the lists of other media and platforms. Which works and which stars can stand out from so many media and platform selections? This shows that they are truly good works and good actors who have received attention this year. So next year, when I recommend stars to brands and choose which artists to cooperate with, I will definitely care about the results of this review."

"To be honest, if you have a company or an artist, you can try to get one or two editors or one or two magazines through personal connections, OK, that's possible. But who has the ability to get on the good side of TV stations, video websites, social media, traditional media, print magazines, newspapers... and even many famous directors, film critics, and famous actors at the same time? As far as I know, there are already more than 30 reviews in preparation, which will be released at the end of the year. Who knows what will happen next? Whether it's a mule or a horse, only ability can tell."

-

This interview with the editor-in-chief of Fashion magazine finally brought the "year-end review" to the forefront of public attention.

It's not just "Jump Up" magazine that's doing this review, nor is it just Yuehu TV station that's doing this "Chinese Drama Awards." In the coming months, many places will be doing this review as well.

At this moment, people who usually watch TV dramas and have their favorite works will inevitably have a question pop into their minds: Should the work I like be able to enter these lists?

-

"It's become a complete free-for-all," Chen Siqi said on the phone.

Lu Yanhe nodded, "Sister Ziyan must have been a lot behind the scenes. She was afraid we would be the first to stand out, so she pushed a lot of media outlets to do this year-end review."

“That’s good,” Chen Siqi said. “This way, we’ll have far fewer people coming to say hello. With so many people doing inventory, we can’t possibly reach them all.”

Lu Yanhe: "The commotion caused by this matter has completely exceeded my expectations."

Chen Siqi nodded: "Me too. I originally thought this was just something we did ourselves, something to have fun with. I didn't expect so many people to want to get involved."

"Perhaps it's because doing this doesn't actually require much investment," Lu Yanhe said. "However, these lists can attract a lot of attention. You know, many magazines haven't gone out of business because they're supported by government subsidies and cultural foundations. There are very few print media that can truly survive on normal commercial operations. They haven't been in the public eye for a long time."

"If everyone really works together to do this inventory, the impact of this inventory will be quite significant."

“Hmm,” Lu Yanhe said, “Let’s see if this kind of review can help some films and TV series get into the audience’s view. If it can, I think this review activity can continue next year.”

Chen Siqi: "In any case, we will continue to publish 'Jump Up'. As an arts and literature magazine, it is our duty to do a review of literary and artistic works. Our readers are very interested in this review. The number of posts on the forum has increased several times. Everyone is asking why we can't vote online."

"Yes, why didn't you conduct an online poll?"

“Because with online voting now, no one can tell how many vote-buying sites are involved,” Chen Siqi said. “Our questionnaires all have individual QR codes, one QR code per form, which you can’t copy. This means that if you want to vote, you have to spend more than 30 yuan to buy a magazine. For someone who wants to rig votes, the cost is not as low as buying vote-buying sites online.”

Lu Yanhe: "After all that, we still have to use primitive methods to ensure authenticity."

"There's nothing we can do."

-

"You received an invitation to the Chinese drama awards ceremony hosted by Yuehu TV, right?" Yan Liang asked Li Zhibai.

Li Zhibai: "Me? I didn't. I haven't aired any dramas this year either."

"Huh? Zhou Ping'an also told me that Yuehu TV wanted the three of us to do a medley of movie and TV drama OSTs that day," Yan Liang said.

Li Zhibai: "That's probably because they're still communicating with Lin Suyang, and Lin Suyang hasn't told me yet."

Yan Liang: "Have you been getting a lot of calls lately?"

What do you mean?

"The person who asked you why Lao Lu was doing this year-end inventory."

"Some of it is really strange. This has nothing to do with Lao Lu. It was clearly Chen Siqi who did it."

"They are a couple, even though they are not married yet. In other people's eyes, no matter who does what, they do it together."

“It’s strange,” Li Zhibai said. “But to be honest, the sudden surge of media outlets and platforms doing year-end reviews at the end of this year has made me quite nervous.”

Why are you so nervous?

"The movie 'Even If I Fake My Death' didn't have a very good reputation to begin with. When it was released, it was not well received by many media outlets and film critics."

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about that. Look at ‘The Flowing Light’,” Yan Liang said. “I don’t even need to be nervous. I know that this show will basically not make it into the list.”

The controversy surrounding "The Flowing Light" has been immense lately.

The plot is controversial, and Zhang Lan's performance is also controversial.

Many people say that Zhang Lan is no longer old enough to act in period dramas.

Li Zhibai: "We two are truly brothers in misfortune."

"How did you guys comfort me back then? You said, 'In the entertainment industry, you can't be successful in every film. There will always be some that aren't so successful,'" Yan Liang said.

"Except for Lao Lu's."

"Oh, right, except for Lao Lu's."

“Thinking about my upcoming drama, ‘Nineteen Years,’ I feel a bit hopeless,” Li Zhibai said. “There’s nothing more despairing than discovering that you’re actually quite mediocre.”

"I think you're setting your expectations too high. Since Lighthouse Video wants to release this drama in September and try to make it the top drama of September, it means it's of a certain quality."

"You've got it wrong. With a cast like me and Teacher Jiang Jun, the fact that it's being aired in such a low-quality time slot means the quality is really not that great. So we can only try to be the king of the low-quality time slot."

Yan Liang had nothing to say.

“The broadcast time slot of ‘The Flowing Light’ is the one that the platform really values.”

"Then look at the most controversial ones now."

"So what if it's controversial? Look at the viewership and number of viewers for this show. It's overwhelmingly number one. Even though there are a lot of people criticizing it, it's undeniably a hit. I saw that your latest episode had nine pre-roll ads," Li Zhibai said. "Do you really want it to be like the early episodes of 'The Summit,' which had good reviews but hardly anyone watched it?"

Yan Liang thought about it seriously for a while, then shook his head and said, "Then I'd rather be scolded than not be seen."

"Look," Li Zhibai smiled.

All three of them, except for Li Zhibai, had experienced the feeling of being "unseen," so none of them were particularly naive or idealistic. When it came to making a real choice, bread was definitely more important.

Yan Liang and Li Zhibai both set high standards for themselves, which were based on their previous achievements.

Compared to previous results, this one is much worse.

When "The Nineteen Years of Crime Records" was broadcast, the show gained immense popularity on its premiere day, thanks to the popularity of the original novel and the leading roles played by two top-tier actors, Li Zhibai and Jiang Jun. It immediately topped the drama popularity chart.

However, just as Li Zhibai had expected, the show did not receive very good reviews.

The main problem is that the editing pacing is terrible.

In addition, several supporting actors with significant screen time in this drama had mediocre acting skills, and several of their performances were ridiculed and trended on social media.

The villain played by Li Zhibai has also been criticized for being too formulaic.

In the "Chinese Paladin" crew, these past few days, everyone has suddenly become hesitant to speak to Li Zhibai, knowing that he must be in a bad mood.

Li Zhibai sighed.

Ten minutes ago, an executive from Lighthouse Video sent him a message: "If you had agreed to let Lu Xibo come back as director instead of insisting on using Liu Manbo, a newcomer director, the reputation of this show wouldn't have turned out like this."

Li Zhibai felt as if someone had pierced his heart with a sharp sword.

Liu Manbo also sent him a message: Sorry, the feedback on this drama is not very good.

Back then, Liu Manbo, a newcomer, was able to take over as director after Lu Xibo's incident, entirely thanks to Li Zhibai's strong support.

Unfortunately, this time there was no inspiring story of "a discerning eye discovering a talent".

Although the filming of the entire series seemed to go smoothly and well on set, Liu Manbo's lack of experience caused problems with the pacing of the series during post-production editing.

Li Zhibai replied: This is your first time directing, and you've done a great job. You'll do even better next time.

After a long pause, Liu Manbo asked: "This drama has been questioned by so many people, do I still have a chance next time?"

Li Zhibai said: This drama also has many highlights. It's just that it's controversial. It's not a flop. How can there not be another chance?

After comforting and encouraging Liu Manbo, Li Zhibai sighed, put down his phone, and shook his head.

Let's just let this go.

Li Zhi thought it over and decided not to think about it anymore.

It's not a big deal if you fail the first time.

That's nothing.

Li Zhibai recalled Liu Manbo's on-site directing and the questions he had raised. Yes, Liu Manbo was indeed a capable director on set, convincing everyone present to trust his direction.

He just couldn't process these materials with a holistic mindset in the later stages.

As one person said, "Nineteen Years" has many scenes that are filmed in a way that is eye-catching, but when put together, they are strange.

"Knock knock".

Someone knocked on the door.

Li Zhibai was alone in the lounge; he had kicked everyone else out.

"Who is it?" Li Zhi asked.

He just wants some peace and quiet right now and doesn't want to see anyone.

"It's me," Lu Yanhe answered from outside.

“And me.” That was Yan Liang’s voice.

Li Zhibai went to open the door.

"Don't tell me you're here to comfort me," Li Zhibai laughed.

Lu Yanhe: "There's no need to comfort you. You're so thick-skinned, others may not know, but Yan Liang and I know it all too well."

Li Zhibai: "Sun."

Yan Liang: "However, if you lock yourself in the lounge and let your assistants all go out, people will inevitably start to wonder if they see you like that."

Li Zhibai: "I just want to be alone for a while and think about whether I was too optimistic or too idealistic before."

"So what's your conclusion?"

“I don’t think I did anything wrong. I just wasn’t very lucky. Liu Manbo really lacked experience and couldn’t edit so many scenes into a complete and well-paced one.”

"Hmm." Lu Yanhe nodded. "So you really were thinking about these things."

"Otherwise, what do you think I'm thinking?"

"I thought you were secretly crying." Yan Liang laughed heartily.

Li Zhibai: "Heh."

“I was thinking, if the show itself is well-made and the problem lies in post-production and editing, why don’t you find someone to edit a new version?” Lu Yanhe asked.

"Huh?" Li Zhibai was taken aback.

Lu Yanhe said, "I watched this drama. In fact, many scenes are very well shot as independent chapters. From the perspective of editing, Liu Manbo is actually very good at visuals and shooting, but he is not good at the pacing of storytelling."

Li Zhibai said, "But, is it too late to re-edit a version?"

“I’m not asking you to re-edit and replace the version that’s currently airing,” Lu Yanhe said. “Keep this version, but re-editing it will also allow us to see where the problem lies.”

-

I recommend the new book "The Demon-Slaying Sword".

I forgot to set a scheduled update yesterday, so I went to bed at 7 pm and slept for eleven hours...

(End of this chapter)