Chapter 866 At the Meeting
This time, Lin Suyang genuinely replied with a humble attitude: "I've learned a lot, thank you, sister."
The agent plays a supporting role.
However, playing a support role does not mean that it is just a role that only assists.
A true support player is someone like Chen Ziyan.
In the world of agents, Chen Ziyan has always been a legend.
Everyone's used to saying it.
Previously, Lin Suyang's understanding of a legend was that she had mentored several superstars.
Later, Lin Suyang's understanding of the legend was that she was highly skilled and had an extremely high level of expertise.
Today, Lin Suyang has gained a new understanding.
-
"Damn, Ma Zhiyuan actually came tonight." Li Zhibai whispered angrily in Jiang Yuqian's ear.
As they were award presenters invited by the authorities, their seats were arranged together, which also made it easier for them to whisper to each other.
Of course, even so, in order to avoid being photographed, the two could not engage in any intimate actions.
Whispering in someone's ear is already the limit in public.
When Jiang Yuqian got together with Li Zhibai, Ma Zhiyuan had already been out of the spotlight for a long time.
Li Zhibai had never told Jiang Yuqian about his past with Ma Zhiyuan. Therefore, Jiang Yuqian was completely unaware of the deep conflict between Li Zhibai and Ma Zhiyuan—although she had heard about it before.
Li Zhibai and Ma Zhiyuan had a long-standing feud, a fact that had been revealed online before.
Jiang Yuqian: "Ma Zhiyuan has become popular again with the 'Scandal' series. Now he has taken on a new movie. He has entered the film industry more smoothly than many popular actors. He seems to be the first person to make a comeback from online movies to theatrical films. This time, Zhou Ping'an helped him get the opportunity to be a presenter at the Lingyun Award, which sends a signal to the outside world that he has returned to the mainstream circle."
Li Zhibai immediately scoffed.
"Mainstream my foot."
Seeing Li Zhibai's attitude, Jiang Yuqian smiled helplessly.
"It's obvious that your relationship with him is really bad," Jiang Yuqian asked. "Were you two very competitive when you were at Xingyu Entertainment?"
"The competition wasn't just fierce; it was like they were trying to climb over us to get ahead," Li Zhibai bluntly stated. "When Fengzhi debuted, we missed the window of opportunity for idol artists, so we faded quickly. But my company was still spending money to give me exposure, keeping me some fans and popularity. Ma Zhiyuan's group was already popular, and Ma Zhiyuan was the most popular, so you know what I mean. Back then, he not only ostracized us and made sarcastic remarks, but he also frequently tried to steal our resources—he was the kind who would directly take them. Mine was okay; others were wary of us. But Yan Liang and his group were ruthlessly robbed. There weren't many job opportunities to begin with, and they even snatched some away from us."
“That’s really something—” Jiang Yuqian nodded, “I think I understand now.”
"As for me, it's just that Ma Zhiyuan is jealous." Li Zhibai's face showed a smug look again. "Although our group is past its prime, I'm still very popular and have high commercial value. In the company, I'm his only competitor. In particular, my fans have much greater purchasing power than his, probably because of my family background. I'm a legitimate second-generation rich kid, and various brands have a higher recognition of my image than his. Of course, this is very politically incorrect, I know. He probably feels it's unfair in his heart. Anyway, it's the difference in commercial value caused by the persona. So, all in all, in the end, he always wanted to put me down."
Jiang Yuqian: "It sounds like he has ulterior motives."
"Of course he was wicked, it wasn't just simple jealousy," Li Zhibai said. "He even did a lot of dirty tricks behind the scenes. Fortunately, Lao Lu lived up to expectations and almost disappeared from the public eye. He became famous overnight after passing the college entrance examination, surpassing all idol artists. And then, he took us with him."
Jiang Yuqian: "The road to a comeback."
“That’s true,” Li Zhibai said. “Although you were also with Xingyu at the time, you were focused entirely on acting and didn’t really understand how fierce the competition was in the idol industry. Do you know how bad Yan He’s situation was back then?”
"I've heard about it." Jiang Yuqian nodded. "I have heard about it."
“Right?” Li Zhibai said, “So, it really wasn’t easy. Think about it, he really didn’t have any background or support at all, he just relied on himself to carve out a path. To be honest, what right does Ma Zhiyuan have to be jealous of me? I rely on my family to provide resources and support, he relies on his company to provide resources and support, we are essentially the same, it’s like the pot calling the kettle black, it’s ridiculous.”
Jiang Yuqian: "...I never expected you to be so self-deprecating."
“It’s not that I’m belittling myself.” Li Zhibai shook his head. “I just know very well how I got here. Let me tell you, being around Lao Lu is particularly good in this respect. Both I and Yan Liang are very self-aware. Moreover, we learn from him that we never pretend to be some kind of high-quality idol. We always create an artist’s persona based on our own circumstances and never pretend to be someone different from ourselves.”
Jiang Yuqian raised her eyebrows.
Li Zhibai said, "Look at when Yan Liang was still with Xingyu, the company wanted to use his popularity from 'Friends' to package him into a high-profile idol and extract greater commercial value. He knew this very well. Although he was always working on stage and participating in 'Idol Era,' fulfilling his job, he never felt that he had any talent in this area. On the contrary, he was always working hard to improve his acting skills. When he came back from filming 'The Gold Rush,' we all felt that he had returned from fleeing. He was that strict with himself. He was not attracted by the company's design and packaging at the time and did not take an easier route."
"So, Yan He also tailored that song for him? 'The Battlefield of Youth'?"
"right."
Jiang Yuqian sighed softly.
"Yan He is truly talented. In all my years in the entertainment industry, I have never seen anyone more talented than him."
Li Zhibai nodded in agreement.
"Yan Liang and I think so too."
Jiang Yuqian: "The release date of 'Love is Not Blind' was suddenly set so early, so much earlier than originally planned. Was it because you were being followed by paparazzi before? Were you worried that the exposure would affect the movie?"
“Yes.” Li Zhibai nodded. “Don’t worry about it. Yan He said that the main reason is that this matter clashes with the theme of ‘Love is Not Blind,’ so they are trying to avoid any impact. Other than that, it’s fine.”
Jiang Yuqian: "You really believe what Yan He tells you? He says everything's fine, and you actually believe him? He might just be trying to comfort us."
“If it’s just for comfort, then I’ll listen,” Li Zhibai said. “If ‘Love is Not Blind’ really loses money and affects the box office, I’ll make a few movies for him for free and make it back. We brothers will inevitably help each other out sometimes.”
Jiang Yuqian: "I really think that you have a much better mindset than I do."
-
Ma Zhiyuan looked at the report on his phone about Lu Yanhe saying, "I was just late, not here to be the grand finale," and scoffed inwardly.
What a fucking pretentious guy.
nausea.
Ma Zhiyuan put down his phone.
Because Zhou Pingan came over.
He came up to him and whispered a reminder, "Go and say hello to the producers, directors and some seniors who are there."
Ma Zhiyuan said, "Do you think I didn't go? Basically, no matter who I greeted, they would just give me a perfunctory reply or two, and wouldn't say much more to me."
"I'm not going to say anything more to you. You still need to go and greet them." Zhou Ping'an glared at him cautiously. "Do you think you're still the same person who could act like a big shot? Aren't you overestimating yourself?"
Ma Zhiyuan looked at him with annoyance.
"If you think I'm not good enough for formal occasions, why did you bring me here in the first place?"
“If you can’t walk in, then crawl in.” Zhou Ping’an glared at him with exasperation. “You don’t have the right to be arrogant now. You can only be respectful so that others know you exist and can think of you when they have a role to play.”
Ma Zhiyuan said, "Is it really necessary?"
“Okay, then you can go back and continue making online movies,” Zhou Pingan said.
Ma Zhiyuan: "I fucking—"
"Try swearing at me again?" Zhou Pingan looked at him coldly. "Don't think that just because I don't have anyone else to support me, or that I'm still willing to give you a chance, you can continue to ruin things."
Ma Zhiyuan swallowed his anger.
Zhou Ping'an sneered.
“Before, you could sit in the first three rows with Lu Yanhe and Li Zhibai, but now, today, you can only sit with me in the ninth row,” Zhou Ping’an said. “If such a long period of decline and such a back seat can’t wake you up, at least stop acting like this and put on a show. Then tonight, when you go out, go contact the media. Don’t try to threaten me with your pretentious attitude. Even if you’ve given up, I can still start over. Let’s see if you can.”
Ma Zhiyuan took a deep breath, turned around and walked towards Huang Zhongjing and Huang Tai in Longyan.
-
"A second chance at the trophy? Me?"
Lu Yanhe waved his hand with a smile, "I'm already very happy to have won one. I can't be an ungrateful person. I don't want to leave you with the impression of being greedy. Ah, never mind, that's so pretentious. I admit it, I want to win awards, I want to win all of them."
The people around him laughed knowingly.
"But, if I gain it, I'm lucky; if I lose it, it's fate. I should keep a calm mindset," Lu Yanhe said. "I think it's better to have this kind of mindset."
"Yan He, how's 'Calm Wind One' doing in North America this year's awards season? Is there any hope of it being nominated for an Oscar?" someone asked.
Lu Yanhe shook his head. "I don't know either. Their awards are very different from ours in China. They rely on a long marathon that lasts for several months, taking into account industry evaluations, media reviews, and various other factors to create a trend, and then make the final decision at the Oscars. The process is very long, and we don't know what the result will be until the very end. So, do your best and leave the rest to fate."
"It's really not easy. Right now, you're the only one in China who can navigate those international rules. When are you going to take us along to try them out?"
“If you need me, just let me know anytime,” Lu Yanhe said. “Actually, we are also very willing to organize domestic film production companies to go to the international market and have a chat. The information gap is not only a problem in China, but also internationally. Those film distributors are not watching movies all the time, and they can’t even see many Chinese films. If we bring our selling points and talk to them, we may find opportunities.”
“We have actually participated in some international markets, including purchasing booths and such, but the sales have not been as expected.”
"I'm not an expert in this area. Xu Tianming, the general manager of Linghe, is the most professional and skilled in this," Lu Yanhe said with a smile. "As for me, I'm all just theoretical."
Everyone was chatting and laughing.
"Actually, our domestic market is already big enough, and the international market is just a supplementary box office," someone said. "Unfortunately, we don't have a mature distribution network like Hollywood, which has been established all over the world."
“The network has been built up gradually, but the real problem is that audiences in other markets have not developed the habit of watching Chinese-language films.”
"Yes, to attract audiences to the cinema, movies themselves used to be an attractive and novel thing. However, as Chinese films have matured, audiences all over the world have already seen all kinds of movies. At this point, it suddenly becomes a competition of high-quality and sophisticated films, which is even more difficult."
“We’re already doing very well,” Lu Yanhe laughed. “At least our domestic market is big enough that we can rely on it to make a living regardless of market conditions. Take our neighbors South Korea and Japan, for example. Although they are already among the world’s largest markets, the risks of making movies that compete with Hollywood’s production budgets are much higher than ours.”
That's true.
"Moreover, big productions have their own way of doing things, and low-budget productions have their own way of doing things," Lu Yanhe said with a smile. "Home Alone cost less than two million US dollars. Finding good ideas, good concepts, and good ideas is fundamental. With a solid foundation, the distribution network can exert its strength. You can see this from 'The 17th Floor'. After the trilogy gained popularity, Maxine spent a high price to buy the spin-off series 'The 17th Floor: Reboot,' which was no less expensive than the series starring Hollywood A-list stars."
"So you're really good at this. We don't have that kind of network, and we don't understand the market, so we often get ripped off."
“Let’s help each other out,” Lu Yanhe said. “I may not have the ability to help everyone sell every project, but at least we can make judgments together to avoid being scammed. Those people in Hollywood are definitely not good people; even Wall Street people can’t outsmart them.”
"You seem to have never been scammed in the first place," someone said. "How did you do that?"
“Because they saw my value in long-term cooperation, they didn’t intend to take advantage of me completely on one project,” Lu Yanhe said. “After becoming familiar with the rules, I was less likely to be taken advantage of.”
"That's really true; it's a path we can't replicate at all."
“That’s not fair,” Lu Yanhe immediately shook his head. “How could that be? More and more people will open up the international market in the future. As long as the film industry doesn’t decline, and China’s film industry has already developed, we will never stay stuck in our own market forever. When have we ever been worse than others? The only thing we lack is time and opportunity.”
-
Ma Zhiyuan overheard Lu Yanhe chatting with some producers and film company bosses, and he felt disdain and even contempt.
Anyone can talk about big principles, right?
Ma Zhiyuan thought to himself, "Do you really think those people believe what you say? They're just flattering you."
"Excuse me," someone suddenly said to him.
Ma Zhiyuan turned his head and saw Ji Miao.
Ji Miao was wearing a princess-style tulle dress. Because the skirt was very voluminous, she needed to hold it up with both hands to make it easier to walk.
Ma Zhiyuan moved to the side.
Ji Miao walked past without looking to the side.
Ma Zhiyuan felt a sharp pang in his heart.
—Are you overestimating yourself?
Zhou Ping'an's words still echoed in my ears.
Ma Zhiyuan knew Ji Miao before and had interacted with her on many occasions.
However, just now, Ji Miao acted as if she had no idea who he was, arrogantly raising her chin and walking right past him.
"Excuse me."
Ha, not even a single pleasantry.
Ma Zhiyuan stared coldly at Ji Miao's retreating figure.
What's with your arrogance?
The so-called "princess of arthouse films" has never actually won a single award.
She's not young anymore, yet she acts like a little princess. More like an old princess!
Ji Miao went to Li Zhibai's right side—this was her seat.
"Li Zhibai, it's been a long time." Ji Miao's tone was somewhat sarcastic. Then, she gave Jiang Yuqian, who was standing next to Li Zhibai, a sweet smile. "Sister Yuqian, hello, we meet again. I've missed you so much."
Jiang Yuqian leaned forward and shook hands with Ji Miao.
"So beautiful," Jiang Yuqian exclaimed.
Ji Miao: "No way, you're the prettiest one. I love your makeup today, it's so exquisite."
Caught in the middle, Li Zhibai: "..."
Ji Miao sat down and said to Li Zhibai, "Your nemesis is here today too, but I'm on your side and will just ignore him."
Li Zhibai: "Should I thank you?"
Ji Miao: "Heh, you're as heartless as ever."
Li Zhibai: "..."
Jiang Yuqian glanced at the young girl who had collaborated with Li Zhibai on "Even Faking Death Is Not Allowed" with a smile in her eyes.
Once upon a time, Ji Miao was someone Jiang Yuqian envied.
Although she wasn't very famous or popular, she came from a prestigious "film industry" background and had always been a leading lady in movies. Many people believed that she was more sophisticated than top stars like Jiang Yuqian at the time.
Now, of course, the situation is no longer like that.
Jiang Yuqian truly realized that the so-called film industry was really just a circle drawn by a group of people.
The so-called barrier is simply that you're not part of their circle, so they don't include you.
Previously, she could only exchange her online popularity for tickets, which was just enough for a side gate ticket. Now that she's become a global sensation, people want to carry her through the main gate in a sedan chair, but they have to see if she's willing to get in.
Honestly, it's nothing special.
As for Ji Miao's slightly resentful tone towards Li Zhi, Jiang Yuqian was actually alright—
Li Zhibai had actually told her about Ji Miao's situation a long time ago.
Jiang Yuqian is... not really jealous.
When a woman gets jealous, it's often because she feels that the man is really showing signs of something.
She really had no interest in spreading the word if there wasn't any indication of it.
"Sister Yuqian, you and Li Zhibai filmed 'Love is Not Blind' together. Don't you think Li Zhibai is annoying?" Ji Miao suddenly looked at her and asked.
(End of this chapter)
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