Chapter 93
The news that "Starting with a Bowl" will be adapted into a film or television series has been confirmed.
Recently, many celebrities in the industry have received scripts from Zhou Xingyun, but the scripts they received are titled "The Ming Dynasty".
This is a name that Xu Ying changed specifically for the film and television adaptation.
"Starting with a Bowl" is playful but lacks grandeur; it would be more serious to change it to "The Ming Dynasty".
Zhou Xingyun and Xu Ying are now quite famous in the industry, and many celebrities want to get close to them. However, this situation is a bit special, and many people who have received the script are now in a dilemma.
If it's a female-oriented script like "Empress Wu Zetian," "Legend of the Qing Dynasty," or "Code Name: Dodder Flower," they'll accept it without hesitation. After all, regardless of whether these dramas become popular, at least the costumes, props, and sets are exquisite, making it easy to create stunning visuals.
But this "Ming Dynasty" is different.
This drama is all about the male protagonist conquering and governing the world. The costumes, props, and sets all look rough and crude. Can such a rough, male-oriented work really gain the approval of mainstream audiences, especially since the screenwriter has never written any male-oriented works before?
Many actors had a question mark in their minds.
"If you ask me, I'd rather not take the risk. Look at all these TV dramas adapted from novels over the years, how many of them have become hits? Most of them have flopped so badly that even their own mothers wouldn't recognize them."
"Besides, this drama clashes with the urban drama script I gave you a couple of days ago, so you have to choose one. If you ask me, playing a domineering CEO is more reliable. Although the roles are a bit too similar, at least there's a solid audience base, and the buzz is guaranteed!"
"If you acted in this 'Ming Dynasty' series, you might become the next target of ridicule. Remember who was ridiculed last time? They still haven't recovered their reputation..."
The agent kept nagging and persuading her artist, while Li Yijun held the script of "Da Ming Dynasty" and remained silent with her eyes downcast.
He understood the reasoning his agent was making.
But he's 32 now, which isn't young anymore. He finally has a chance to rise to the top, and the script is one he genuinely likes. He'd be unwilling to give up without taking the plunge.
So what if I flop and get ridiculed? It's better than being eliminated in silence.
"I still want to accept it."
If he misses this opportunity, once Xu Ying and Zhou Xingyun establish their reputation in male-oriented dramas, he really won't get the chance to play the lead role. At that time, there will naturally be plenty of younger and more handsome male artists vying for the role.
The agent's words of advice suddenly stuck in his throat.
Well, all his talking for half a day was for nothing; his own artist didn't listen to a word he said.
He waved his hand helplessly and said, "Whatever you want, as long as you don't regret it."
After all, he had been managing artists for over a decade, and they were practically family. Since Li Yijun was determined to take on this role, he certainly wouldn't go against his wishes.
"Sigh, I'm just worried that if this drama runs into problems, what will you do if you can't get any roles afterward..."
*
Li Yijun signed a contract with the production team of "Da Ming Dynasty", thus securing the male lead role.
To be honest, Zhou Xingyun was quite surprised that Xu Ying would choose Li Yijun, after all, Li Yijun is the kind of handsome actor with a tough guy vibe, and he and the male lead Zhu Yuanzhang have absolutely no resemblance in appearance.
Xu Ying has always placed great importance on how well an actor fits the role when choosing a character.
Xu Ying glanced at her helplessly: "I'm not stupid. Do you expect me to find someone with a long face to play the male lead? If so, would anyone even watch this show?"
"Hahahaha," Zhou Xingyun burst into laughter and leaned on Xu Ying's shoulder. "How come I never realized you could be so shrewd sometimes? Hahahaha!"
"It's not too late to find out now."
Xu Ying reached out and helped Zhou Xingyun aside, then picked up the remote control and turned on the TV: "By the way, 'Code Name: Dodder Flower' is about to start airing, would you like to stay and watch it with me?"
After two rounds of trailers, "Code Name: Dodder Flower" is finally going to be officially broadcast.
Star TV is considered one of the top-tier television stations, and the fact that its own dramas are of such high quality right from the start is ultimately thanks to director Liu Mingchun. I wonder if "Da Ming Dynasty" will ever have the chance to be broadcast on satellite TV.
"No, I have something to do later, I have to go now," Zhou Xingyun seemed to remember something, suddenly stood up, grabbed his bag and ran away in a hurry.
Something's not right.
Xu Ying watched Zhou Xingyun's retreating figure and felt that she probably wasn't telling the truth, but it didn't seem to be anything bad, so she didn't take it to heart.
The sound of the door closing outside rang out. Xu Ying turned her head and glanced at the TV screen. It wasn't time for the drama to air yet, and a chocolate commercial was playing on the big screen. She then picked up her phone and logged into her Dayan account.
The drama "Code Name: Dodder Flower" has been highly anticipated since filming began, and its premiere today should definitely make it to the top of the trending searches.
It definitely made it to the trending topics.
As soon as Xu Ying opened the app, she saw the hashtag #CodenameDodderFlowerPremiere# at the top of the entertainment list. Clicking on the hashtag, she found the square filled with fans of the male and female leads controlling the comments and expressing their anticipation.
Having big stars in a show makes all the difference; even haters have to think twice before trying to criticize it.
Speaking of Hei Zi, Xu Ying thought of Zhang Sandao.
Ever since the Feitian Award last year, he has been haunting me relentlessly.
He jumped on the bandwagon both times when the trailer for "Code Name: Dodder Flower" was released. It makes no sense that he would suddenly go silent now that the TV series has started airing. This is really not in line with Zhang Sandao's usual style.
Xu Ying left the square and scrolled through the trending topics from top to bottom, making sure she didn't see any related entries about Zhang Sandao or "The Record of Misty Rain and Mountains and Seas." She was somewhat surprised. Could it be... that this person has really changed his ways?!
Or perhaps Zheng Fan and Qian Jingjing's fans were too powerful, suppressing the other drama's trending topics? Xu Ying pondered randomly, but in any case, she still didn't quite believe that Zhang Sandao would suddenly stop.
'Hidden beneath calm waves...'
The opening theme song of the TV series suddenly started playing, pulling Xu Ying back to reality. She put down her phone and focused on watching the series.
Humans are ultimately visual creatures, and it must be said that the Republican-era atmosphere revealed throughout this drama is quite captivating.
The fact that the female lead had her hair styled in an updo and wore a cheongsam when she made her entrance alone would be enough to attract a large number of viewers who are looking for a visually striking experience.
Not to mention, the plot of this drama is not bad at all, and can even be described as thrilling and exciting. With all these factors combined, Xu Ying is confident that once the audience enters, they will not want to leave.
*
The next day.
The real-time viewership ratings for "Code Name: Dodder Flower" are out, and the staff at Star TV are pleasantly surprised! The first episode's real-time viewership rating is the highest of all dramas this year!
"I never expected that a dark horse would suddenly emerge when the year was almost over."
If "Code Name: Dodder Flower" can maintain this upward momentum, it will soon become the top drama on Star TV this year.
"I thought 'Butterfly Scheme' was a sure thing; it's the highest-rated show on our TV station so far."
"Who can argue with that? It just goes to show that experience counts. I remember when Director Liu was planning to make this series, quite a few people were skeptical. But as it turns out, Director Liu's judgment was spot on..."
The TV ratings look very promising, and the online platforms are doing just as well.
"Code Name: Dodder Flower" is a drama series that is broadcast on both satellite TV and online video platforms. The online streaming rights for this drama were purchased by Wang Zhixie of Brown Bear Video.
Last time, he lost to Jiang Manni in the competition for Xu Ying's "Legend of the Qing Dynasty". He was upset for a long time afterward, especially since "Legend of the Qing Dynasty" became a huge hit during the summer vacation. The more popular the show became, the more upset he became.
Therefore, this time he didn't hold back on the online streaming rights for "Code Name: Dodder Flower" and directly persuaded the higher-ups to spend a lot of money to buy them.
Fortunately, the director of this drama was Liu Mingchun, and the actors were Zheng Fan and Qian Jingjing. My boss has always been superstitious about traffic and authority, so he could barely accept the fact that this drama cost a lot of money.
"Yes, with Director Liu Mingchun involved, this drama is definitely going to be fine. Not to mention, we also have Zheng Fan and Qian Jingjing. As long as their fans are still around, we won't be afraid even if no audience members show up..."
Wang Zhixie echoed.
He used to look down on his boss's arguments, but now that they share the same goal, he suddenly felt that there was nothing wrong with such arguments, at least it made it easier for him to persuade the other party.
To ensure the high viewership ratings of "Code Name: Dodder Flower" on satellite TV, the online release time on Brown Bear Video was postponed by one day.
In other words, viewers could watch the two episodes they released online each day on TV the day before. Because of this, Wang Zhixie had already prepared for the show's popularity to be low. However, when the popularity statistics came out that night, it actually broke 27,000?!
This was despite their platform not promoting it heavily and Star TV broadcasting it a day early.
"Buying this show was definitely the right decision!"
Wang Zhixie was overjoyed and immediately called Jiang Manni. After feeling so frustrated for so long, he finally got to vent his anger on her.
"Look at the popularity of 'Code Name: Dodder Flower'! The first episode broke 27,000 views, who knows how it will go later, hahaha!"
Jiang Manni found it amusing.
"Mr. Wang, what a coincidence! I was just about to call you, but you called first."
"You called me?" That's strange. What could Young Master Jiang possibly want from me? Wang Zhixie suppressed his smile. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Zhang Sandao has been arrested..."
"What?!"
"Don't get excited, Mr. Wang. Let's talk slowly. I just received the news myself. The screenwriter and director of 'The Record of Misty Mountains and Seas' were reported for gathering a crowd to commit a crime a couple of days ago, and the police came to their door and arrested them on the spot."
“No wonder,” Wang Zhixie suddenly realized, “I was wondering why there was no publicity for the big production on KuCat. Turns out the director and screenwriter are both in trouble and don’t dare to promote it, hahaha!”
This is truly fantastic news. Brown Bear has been suppressed and beaten by Cool Cat for so many years, and Wang Zhixie is happy to see Cool Cat in trouble.
"This is a rare opportunity, Mr. Wang. How about we work together?"
Not to mention Brown Bear Video, Xilaiduo has also had its resources snatched away by Cool Cat over the years. Now that they have the opportunity, Jiang Manni has no intention of letting them off so easily.
"Cooperation is essential!"
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