Chapter 158
Small circle of interests
Ji Zhaoying and others are very interested in Ling Suisui's upcoming drama, but compared to the subject matter and platform, they are more concerned about Ling Suisui himself.
All in all, this small group of them have known each other for five or six years. In the entertainment industry, it is easy to make new friends, but it is not easy to maintain friendships.
Take the drama that Ling Suisui just finished filming as an example. It has only been a month since the filming of "Peach Blossom Burning" was completed, and no one is talking in the group chat of the leading actors. Even if there is something, everyone is more accustomed to chatting privately.
Not to mention the friend from a long time ago - Hu Mingzhe, whom Ling Suisui just mentioned, was also a mutual friend of her and Ji Zhaoying when they were filming a variety show. However, that variety show has been over for six or seven years, and the group chat that was once lively for more than half a year eventually disappeared from their message lists.
When I mentioned him again, the friendship between us was just "acquaintance".
The reason why their small group has been able to persist for so long is not only because everyone can play together, but also because of the stable interest relationship they have established together.
In the early stage, it was the exchange of intelligence, and later it became a more direct exchange of interests. Including "Game is Online", Ling Suisui and they have co-invested in several online dramas. Although there are inevitable occasional small losses, they still make money overall.
For Ling Suisui, Ji Zhaoying and others are not only her good friends, but also her very important network of contacts in the circle.
She repeated the outline of the script she had read, focusing on the settings of several important supporting characters.
Although this drama is invested by Antenna and co-produced by Netflix, Ling Suisui cannot directly insert actors into the crew, but when it comes to film and television casting, information gap is still very important.
The earlier you know it, the earlier you can communicate with the platform and be prepared. These friends of hers may not necessarily act in person, but who doesn’t have a few people who need favors or exchange benefits with?
In the entertainment industry, there is no real "fairness". Even if Ling Suisui didn't reveal anything, the probability that the antenna was not blocked by people with connections was zero, so why should she give all the benefits to the platform?
More than a decade ago, there were actors who would directly say in interviews, "It would be abnormal if there were no connections in the crew." The domestic entertainment industry has never changed in this regard.
Ji Zhaoying thought for a moment and counted on her fingers:
"There are ten main studios at Antenna Films. Tianjia is dedicated to developing various IPs. Tianyi and Tianping are both rubbish...well, they only produce low-budget shared dramas and web dramas. Tianping is a little better. Tianling is mainly responsible for investment and publicity, and is also responsible for casting for various projects."
"Then I remember that Tiangeng is for movies, Tianxin and Tiankui are for variety shows, and Tianshu, Tianji and Tianren are the three studios that do better projects. Tianshu prefers ancient idol dramas and fairy tales, while Tianren likes suspense and science fiction. If nothing unexpected happens, your project will be taken over by Tianji Studio, which is best at urban dramas."
Ji Zhaoying added: "Not absolutely. These three studios don't actually have fixed subject matter classifications. I'm talking about their most famous representative works."
After she finished this long string of words, everyone else looked at her with admiration.
Zhong Yao praised her: "Baby, how come you have such a good memory! If I didn't know you, I would think you were working on the antenna."
"That's nothing." Ji Zhaoying said proudly, "I love to eat gossip inside the antenna the most. Let me tell you, the executives of Tianling and Tianji had a fierce quarrel over the casting of the work! When they exposed each other's dirty laundry, it was like killing a thousand enemies and losing eight hundred of their own!"
In Aoqi's territory, everyone listened with relish to a love-hate story of Antenna Films, and they all sighed that people from big companies know how to have fun. If this were made into a documentary, the number of views would definitely be higher than that of the palace fighting drama.
Ling Suisui listened very carefully - she was not just trying to satisfy her curiosity, she also wanted to collect more relevant information about the inside of the antenna through these gossips.
While they were chatting here, the guests arrived one after another. Before the live broadcast started, Ling Suisui and others simply moved to the last few rows, where there was no lighting, the camera could not capture it, the audience could not see clearly, and they did not have to cover their mouths when chatting.
Watching the four people leaving, the other artists on the stage had a hint of envy in their eyes, but they were not bold enough to approach them.
The topic of their conversation has turned to Ling Sui's next drama, which is the period literature IP that she had previously commissioned Zhong Yao to buy, and the second drama in cooperation with Antenna Video.
In this work, Ling Sui has much more say. Comparing it with what Ji Zhaoying said just now, she thought that it should be produced by her side and promoted by Tianling Studio.
She mentioned her thoughts: "This is a story about the heroine's growth and transformation. I may have to interfere more in the casting. Sister Tong is optimistic about the seedlings recently, and I also want to guide the newcomers."
As Ling Suisui herself is popular enough and has enough appeal, she doesn't need to care about the popularity of her co-actors at all, and she can be the one responsible for attracting investment and maintaining a low profile.
Of course, with so many actors in a period business drama, it is impossible to fill them all with their own family members. Ling Suisui and Tong Xiaoman’s expectation is to sign 2 to 3 actors to test the waters, and there is no rush to expand the scale at the beginning.
She was not going to give them too important roles. On the one hand, she was afraid that the newcomers could not withstand the pressure. On the other hand, things that were too easy to get would be difficult for others to cherish.
"Do you want to join?" Ling Suisui invited his friends. "We are all family. I won't lie to you. I plan to make this drama a high-quality one and strive for the Feitian Award."
She gave an approximate start time of filming: the second half of next year.
Ling Suisui's choice of words is also very subtle. The way of "joining" can be either investment or participation. At the same time, she also pointed out that this is a work that is intended to win awards. Zhong Yao, whose acting skills are average, is very self-aware and would never consider the latter option.
"I'll pay." Boss Zhong said generously.
Ji Zhaoying and Song Lingshan also expressed their willingness to contribute some money, still affiliated with Zhong Yao's company as before.
We are already very skilled at not putting all our eggs in one basket, but rather jointly diversifying investment risks and consolidating interests.
Ji Zhaoying also reminded Ling Suisui: "Are you going to sign a male actor? You have to keep your eyes open. According to my many years of experience, the probability of male artists' reputations being ruined is much higher than that of female artists, and the nature of the scandals is also worse."
Ling Suisui spread his hands: "Isn't this the status quo in every industry? My studio doesn't hire men. If we want to sign a male actor, we will definitely dig through his resume for the past ten years."
"Being good before doesn't mean it will be good in the future." Zhong Yao couldn't help but interrupt, "They didn't do bad things in the past, maybe they just didn't have the opportunity. I tell you, only time can prove the character of an actor. No matter how pure and kind they appear in the interview, they will change in the future."
She shared a real case from her company - a pure and innocent boy who was signed a few years ago, after the company invested resources to make him famous, he actually made appointments with several girls to check into hotels, and his agent almost fainted when he received the blackmail letter. You know, he still has two films he collaborated with famous directors that have not been broadcast yet!
If the broadcast effect is not good, or it is buried directly, the loss to the company will start from nine figures.
"Can you imagine? Even so, there are still male colleagues in our company who say they understand him. They say that fans don't let him fall in love, but men always have physiological needs and so on. It's so disgusting that I almost vomit. If a man doesn't have the self-control to control his lower body, what's the difference between him and an animal?"
Ling Suisui and the others nodded in agreement. Zhong Yao continued, "Anyway, male stars become popular quickly and flop quickly. If you want to sign someone, just sign a few at once and cast a wide net to see if there are any who can become popular. For those who can't become popular, just let them go."
I have to say, compared to companies that make money from termination fees, being able to think of this is considered kind in the entertainment industry.
"For these male artists, you don't have to rush to consider their future. The temptations of the entertainment industry will help you sift out the ones who are truly worth cultivating. You can just let them shoot idol dramas as much as possible, whatever can make money quickly."
"Don't say I'm cruel. You want them to change, but they're not happy about it. They'll be criticized if they're filming a serious drama, but it's not as comfortable as listening to fans' mindless praise in the idol drama circle."
"If you don't believe me, look at the current male actors - the one sitting in the second row, he's over 40 and still hanging around in the ancient idol circle. With his current popularity, the significance of him appearing in the second row is to fully reflect Ochi's spirit of respecting the elderly. We are young, we should give him a seat."
Ling Sui covered her face. She remembered that Zhong Yao had collaborated with Xia Tian in her last movie.
That's right, look at her little mouth smeared with honey, she has inherited the true essence of summer.
She thanked Zhong Yao but declined her proposal. It’s not because she is a kind-hearted person, it’s just because the company has just started (it hasn’t even been registered yet) and can’t cast such a wide net.
"Sister Tong and I still want to sign a female actress." Ling Suisui explained, "The main reason is that the competition in the traffic-producing track is too fierce. We don't have that many chips to compete with big companies for resources. Everyone knows that male artists are easy to become popular and make money quickly."
"Also, I might select someone from the film academy and ask Teacher Tang to help me screen them."
As a beneficiary of the academic community’s strong unity, Ling Suisui would of course prioritize continuing this relationship. No matter what kind of group it is, it is important to have give and take so that the relationship can last.
Zhong Yao thought about it and felt that her thinking was correct.
The live broadcast of Scream Night was about to begin, and several people started to walk back after being reminded by the staff.
Song Lingshan fell behind, and she said to Ling Suisui: "Suisui, my family has connections with the Propaganda Department of Province X. Do you want to go this route and have an additional producer?"
Ling Sui was very moved after hearing this, and of course he wanted it very much.
It is co-produced with the Propaganda Department. Although the content review will be stricter, the part that the antenna can intervene in will be much less. Moreover, under the guidance of the Publicity Department, the probability of this work winning an award will definitely be greatly increased.
Ling Suisui understood what you meant: "Thank you so much, Shanshan. You've helped me so much, why don't you help me to the end and play the second female lead in my drama. You play my sister, and I'll make money outside to support you to go to college."
Song Lingshan readily agreed. It is not easy to cooperate with Ling Suisui now.
She participated in a variety show last month and met a female idol who had just debuted and was very popular. The company wanted her to act, but the scripts they gave her were either for the female lead in a shared-revenue drama, or for the second female lead in a 95 or 00 born drama.
This idol was quite unhappy about this, and felt that even if she played the second female lead, she could only be a supporting role to the 85 flowers, and at the very least she had to be a top star like Ling Suisui.
Song Lingshan could only say, you have a nice idea.
Ling Sui is the 2nd female lead, and even she has to work hard if she wants to play the role. Newcomers who have just debuted should stop dreaming about this.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
