Chapter 356 Chapter 356
This year's May Day Gala may feature NINE STAR. This piece of news seems to have grown wings, perfectly transforming the "foreign" melon from export to domestic sales.
However, this gossip is actually true. Thanks to Huayao's efforts, NINE STAR finally became the first Chinese boy band to appear on CCTV. As a result, the two lead songs on their new album are positive and energetic, perfectly in line with the youth of today.
When the news of the May Day Gala appearance spread online, the agency had already conducted multiple internal investigations. However, when they discovered that the origin of the news was speculation from forum fans, the staff responsible for following up on the project could not help but smile bitterly.
Even the members themselves didn't know about this news, but it's already become a hot topic. So when the assistants who accompanied the Nine Star members on their schedules sent question marks to the company, Huayao had already requested leave for them and the production crew.
Inside the "Interweaving" crew.
Chen Shenju pushed open the RV door and immediately spotted Ji Shao, sitting on the sofa, reading his lines. Director Jiang had very high expectations for his actors. Since joining the crew, they had to arrive at least an hour and a half before their makeup appointments every day.
This early start time undoubtedly became a nightmare for many of the young actors on set. Besides being unable to get up for night scenes, they also had to do a group read-through before each shoot.
Before these people joined the group, Ji Shao had already memorized all the lines during the reading session with his seniors in the group. Now, when he read the script again, he was more focused on reviewing and pondering the emotions in the play.
When he heard the door open, Ji Shao instinctively looked up and saw Chen Shenju, who looked unhappy. He quickly realized that the rumors circulating online were true, but he still gestured for the man to sit down first.
"I've asked for leave from the company and the director. We'll leave on the 13th." Chen Shenju was still puzzled. No wonder the notice he received last night was almost two hours later than usual. It seemed that the director was adjusting the progress.
Chen Shenju understood that the agency's decision to bypass him was a deliberate act of embarrassment. It was because they knew someone from New Town would be joining the crew soon. Otherwise, they likely wouldn't have informed him today that Ji Shao had already requested leave.
Ji Shao nodded. Before Chen Shenju returned, he had already seen the messages sent by the group members. Many people were dissatisfied with Huayao's decision to make it without informing them.
If the agency had given advance notice, appearing on CCTV's May Day Gala would undoubtedly have been a good thing. After all, Ji Shao was the only one from Nine Star to have appeared last year, not to mention the other artists. But after all the work had already been confirmed, this sudden schedule became unpleasant.
NINE STAR's new album will be released on the 13th, and since it's not on time yet, even if they want to practice in advance, they have to hide from others. This year's CCTV May Day Gala will be recorded, which means that the team's practice time will be compressed to an extreme.
But this was a stage for a new song, and this stage was in front of a national audience. Considering that there were still a few days left, Ji Shao thought for a while, looked at Chen Shenju and said, "Brother Chen, help me find a practice room near the film and television city."
…
Meanwhile, fans who were completely unaware of the upcoming performances have been treating it like a New Year's Eve. Furthermore, not only is the album rumored, but the reunion performance rumors have only been circulating for less than a week, and members of various NINE STAR fan clubs have already implicitly acknowledged the news.
When Zhou Xiao learned the news, it happened to be the 8th. In addition to her good friend Zhu Jian's information, she also got it from a special channel.
At noon that day, Zhou Xiao received a call from Director Fang. After she sent him the retouched promotional photos two days ago, the crew of "Letters from Time and Space" seemed to have lost contact. The most obvious thing was that Bu Zhengsi, who posted selfies on WeChat Moments three times a day, hadn't updated his WeChat Moments in the past two days.
Although every time he scrolled through the other person's nine-square grid, half of the photos were always the same, which made Zhou Xiao want to hold his head in his hands, this sudden loss of contact was really worrying.
Just as Zhou Xiao was about to call and ask, she received a call from Director Fang with some great news. "Letters from Time and Space" had successfully sold the overseas distribution rights, a feat achieved before the film even aired!
"The promotional photos you sent were very helpful." The wrinkles around Fang Xi's eyes were accentuated by the smile that spread across her face. She knew foreigners would appreciate the "ZYQ" prize, but she hadn't expected them to take it this far.
Business cooperation itself is full of uncertainty, especially in the film industry, where slight changes can lead to completely different results.
Domestic films differ in their expression from those abroad. During the negotiations, Fang Xi was keenly aware that the other party was in a neutral position. His interest in "Letters from Time and Space" was genuine, but his doubts about the film's subsequent box office performance were also real.
But soon, a turning point came. When Qin Zi laid out the projected publicity and the potential buzz on the negotiation table as bargaining chips, the promotional photo with Zhou Xiao's strong personal style immediately caught his eye.
It's a strange feeling, because it's the same story. But between the stills and the promotional photos, the one that immediately caught everyone's attention was the freshly released promotional photos.
"Director Fang, congratulations!" When Zhou Xiao heard the words "successful sale", he was already happy for Fang Xi.
The tension in the other person's voice had been released, now filled with joy and relief, which made Zhou Xiao feel deeply moved. After all, this was the first successful drama she had witnessed with her own eyes. And Zhou Xiao felt that this movie would definitely be a great success!
For an unreleased film to be picked up by an overseas distributor first, it's likely not only due to the director's fame, but also because the plot has been well-received by word of mouth within the industry. Zhou Xiao had seen the sample reel, so she was very confident in Fang Xi's work.
Fang Xi had long considered Zhou Xiao a close friend, regardless of age. The successful overseas distribution negotiations were a testament to her own judgment in choosing Zhou Xiao, and she naturally felt as happy as if she had drunk honey.
The two of them talked on the phone for almost an hour. When Fang Xi felt the phone getting hot and was about to say goodbye to Zhou Xiao, he suddenly seemed to remember something.
Last year, CCTV invited her to direct the May Day Gala. They had originally invited her earlier this year, but Fang Xi turned it down to focus on her film. She was reminded of this now because she had seen NINE STAR on the program shortlist.
Don't mistakenly think that the director's age means he doesn't understand what a boy band is. Ji Shao, who had collaborated with Zhou Xiao on the OST, and Fang Xi, who remembered Zhou Xiao's leave from the set of "Flower Journey" last year, asked directly, "Xiao Zhou, are you interested in watching the CCTV May Day Gala?"
Although I am no longer a director, if Zhou Xiao is interested, it is not impossible for him to become my student and go in to "learn from me".
Not to mention that this year's live broadcast was changed to a recorded broadcast, which, although it required location shooting, was much easier. Furthermore, TV stations were all about social etiquette, so for Fang Xi, recommending a student was a piece of cake.
So, in a daze, Zhou Xiao was given the title of "Photography Team Intern." It wasn't a job title, and there were no fixed schedules. In other words, it was just a chance to get a feel for the atmosphere and learn.
Thanks to Director Fang's decisive action, less than five minutes after hanging up the phone, Zhou Xiao received a friend request from Qiu Ze, the other party's real student and the person in charge of the photography team for this year's May Day Gala.
…
Meanwhile, CCTV's May Day Gala recruitment was in full swing. Because the filming was on location, they not only had to negotiate promotional arrangements with the local authorities ahead of time for the chosen venue, but they also faced the challenge of recruiting a large number of volunteers and extras.
But these numbers are undoubtedly not enough for the huge fan base. In addition, this stage is likely to be the debut of a new song, so faced with this situation of too many people and too little resources, the battle-hardened NINE STAR fans showed their super hand speed.
Then, the small program used by the production team to temporarily recruit extras crashed directly, and it was the kind of crash that couldn't even enter the page.
After the programmers in the background scratched their heads and made N consecutive repairs, they finally found the culprit of the HoHo app - NINE STAR fans who were stealing the extras at the campsite.
It's obviously not worthwhile to spend a lot of money to upgrade the system just to recruit extras. But the news of the recruitment has leaked out, and if we recruit people privately, we might even be reported and complained by extreme fans.
So, between the choice of laying off their limited in-house programmers and letting Huayao manage their own affairs, the CCTV May Day program production team quickly contacted Huayao and gave the company the quota to allocate on its own. This way, they didn't have to worry about program crashes and immediately saved on the expense—it was perfect.
However, they were unaware that this move had directly triggered internal intrigue within the fan circle, allowing Huayao to use the official "benefits" to try to start a money battle game.
In the small group chat, Zhou Xiao was watching Zhu Jian lash out at his management company. Although Huayao had been allocated a spot for extras in the May Day Gala, this jerk company was actually going to distribute the spot proportionally based on the actual sales share of the new album!
In fact, when the news first broke, many fans thought the company was joking. While I've always thought the company's behavior was unsightly, there should still be some boundaries, right?
I honestly didn't expect the agency to be this greedy. And once the battle for album sales starts, it's unstoppable. As for the nine fan groups privately negotiating? They're even fighting over concert tickets, so who can really trust each other?
Zhou Xiao already had a ticket in hand, issued by the system after she finished her call with the room manager at noon. After some thought, she decided to go to the front desk to check the availability of spots at the NINE STAR camping site.
Yes, the company hasn’t even announced how many spots are available this time! It’s a heart-pounding experience!
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