Chapter 195: A Society of Human Relationships A society of human relationships, intricately intertwined…
Compared to Cheng Hesheng's endless sighs and gratitude when he talks about her later, Li Sishi, who is in the middle of it all, doesn't actually find this hurdle in front of Zhuang Menghua to be "difficult".
After reading the entire script, Zhuang Menghua said to Li Sishi, "You are indeed the most suitable person for this role right now—"
Even without Shang Lanyu's "snatching" of the role, Li Sishi was able to secure the lead role in "Big City, Small Love" based on her acting skills. Zhuang Menghua also had some opinions about the character of the female lead, Lü Yao—everyone sees things differently. Although the script was well-written, the immoral yet realistic love story between the male and female leads, as well as those passionate scenes, presented a challenge to the actors' image.
It's not that Li Sishi can't play complex characters and passionate scenes now. Back then, Huang Qianyan was also around 20 years old when she was given opportunities to take on various roles.
The problem is that, unlike Huang Qianyan, who has difficulty developing in other areas and can only focus on being a leading lady, Li Sishi's background as a beauty pageant contestant makes it naturally easier for her to achieve recognition across all age groups than many other female artists. She also receives far more invitations to participate in public welfare activities than other female artists, and currently, she is still mainly known as the new generation's leading lady of pure and innocent beauty...
In addition, Li Sishi is a singer and actress with a well-rounded career, and TBL's audience is mostly housewives and the elderly, while Li Sishi's fan base is mainly young people. Therefore, at present, a sunny, healthy, cheerful and lively image, as positive as possible, is the path that Li Sishi needs to solidify at this stage.
Therefore, even if Li Sishi participates in films with more convoluted and complex stories than usual, in order to maintain her current "healthy" image, she should ideally choose roles with more likable characters and storylines that are suitable for a wider age range...
To put it simply, the roles Li Sishi takes on may involve elements of dark reality and frivolous love stories, but in terms of the roles she plays in this drama, it is best to choose upright or positive characters, and try to maintain the image she has created through a series of fairy-like and white moonlight roles.
Only in this way can we truly stabilize our core fanbase, which consists of young fans who are easily swayed by restless minds and older fans who are more traditional and prefer elegant, virtuous, and gentle women.
Li Sishi's rise was too legendary, too comprehensive, and too "fast." Even with Zhuang Menghua, the second-in-command of the TBL, behind her, those whose share of the pie had been thinned still harbored resentment towards Li Sishi and would occasionally "take care" of her.
They were eager to find a topic to attack Li Sishi, Zhuang Menghua's new generation of striker.
If Li Sishi were Shang Lanyu's age now... no, perhaps just 4 or 5 years older, Zhuang Menghua could have hardened her heart and made Li Sishi start preparing for an image transformation and adapting to more types of roles—unfortunately, life is so unpredictable. Li Sishi, in her early years, rarely thought of trying a complex role, but she ended up being paired with Shang Lanyu at her peak.
Shang Lanyu was also a former Miss Hong Kong, and her year of selection was exactly ten years after Li Sishi's. Therefore, it is not surprising that Li Sishi, as a junior, would lose to Shang Lanyu, who had all the right elements and was extremely strong.
Of course, if the second female lead's role is a simple plot device, Zhuang Menghua will also keep an eye on Li Sishi—regardless of whether her starting point is "to be kind to others or for the sake of a certain lead actor," taking on such a role, which is equivalent to a cameo, will only be a waste of her time and youth.
"It's not for Leo, but for this story and Miss Shang Lanyu." Li Sishi seemed to understand something and quickly shook her head to explain, "Among my favorite artists, Miss Shang is one of the better ones. Her acting skills are truly a natural miracle..."
"So I thought that if I had the chance, acting opposite her would be very moving—and now I have that opportunity, and the role I've been given is relatively more appealing..."
Like Zhuang Menghua, Li Sishi is also keenly aware of the distribution of her fan base: housewives are intolerant of injustices, while young people always see things in black and white.
Li Sishi had witnessed the version of "Big City, Small Love" in her memory. While depicting human nature and the times, it inevitably aroused dissatisfaction among some viewers regarding the male and female protagonists' values, behavior, and morality. Even after the film became a classic among Chinese-language films, the praise was always accompanied by criticisms such as "cheating," "scumbag," and "mistress."
Compared to those who see a microcosm of reality in this story but can only sigh helplessly, these unusual interpretations of character labels are enough to stir up controversy for ordinary viewers.
"However, I'm not on this 'adventure' alone." Li Sishi chuckled softly as she thought of this. "Actually—there are many other people accompanying me on this adventure."
Those prophetic memories from two lifetimes, those through
The past events learned through personal connections... and the two modern professional women in front of me who wield great power.
The first two reasons gave her the courage to believe that the other party could keep their promise; while the latter gave her the confidence that she would always have someone to help her out in the face of any misfortune.
With this combination of courage and confidence, Li Sishi naturally became able to "be kind to others".
Moreover, she is still far from being a perfect fit for the role of Shang Lanyu in every way. No matter how much the newspapers and magazines criticize her, they can only focus on this topic.
However, if both she and Cheng Hesheng exert their efforts in turn, this can become excellent publicity points and hot topics, allowing the drama to attract attention every now and then before it officially starts filming.
This is a common reference point for investors. I remember that "Big City, Small Love" was very well made, but it was still somewhat limited by funding issues and could not be fully developed... For this reason, since Li Sishi has decided to join, she must do her best to bring something new to the movie and try to attract more investment.
It's kind of funny, actually—when I talked to Rong Juezhang about this on the phone, he laughed at me a lot for being so young yet already worrying about things like "firewood and rice" like an old man like him who wanted to get involved in production. He said that when she got a few more years older, she might be like him, reaching out to steal the jobs of screenwriters and directors...
"However, in life, if there's something you want to do, you should really do it if you have the chance, and never let yourself have any regrets."
"Having the courage and opportunity to take risks is definitely a good thing."
Her thoughts drifted back to the sun-drenched office. Li Sishi looked up and met Zhuang Menghua's serious face.
"I won't argue with you about whether it's risky or not. I just want to ask you one last question: are you sure you've thought it through?" Zhuang Menghua stared intently into Li Sishi's eyes.
"I'm sure I've made up my mind!" Li Sishi replied decisively, then seemed to recall something in a daze, "Because someone once told me that to achieve your goal, it's worth taking a thousand, ten thousand risks beforehand..."
"These are things Lester told you, aren't they?" Zhuang Menghua chuckled slightly. "For him and many others, it's indeed a beautiful truth, but for you, it's something to take with a grain of salt—"
Rong Juezhang's career was fraught with difficulties when he first entered the entertainment industry, and it took him eight years to truly hone his skills and achieve his full potential; while Li Sishi, on the other hand, had a smooth start from her debut.
From the beginning, he had his own protection and support from Lu Yiting.
Although these are valuable life experiences and wise sayings, for a young girl like Li Sishi who is opinionated and listens to advice, these words are just to be taken with a grain of salt. Otherwise, wouldn't she and Lu Yiting have to take away a lot of "work"?
"Miss Zhuang, what do you mean?" Li Sishi asked, somewhat confused.
"Let me explain to you—" Lu Yiting said with a smile, "Before calling you over, Miss Zhuang had already told me to prepare for both possibilities."
"If you don't want to take the risk, then I'll turn down the offer for this role."
Then, in addition to arranging other tasks for you, I will also give you some guidance..." Although it is rumored that Zhuang Menghua's favorite subordinates only accept lead roles, in fact, when faced with choices, Zhuang Menghua is not so strict in requiring that they must be lead actors.
Huang Qianyan mostly plays leading roles; in fact, it's mostly the female lead who shines in those movies. If she encounters multiple leading or supporting roles, both Zhuang Menghua and Huang Qianyan, whose actual screen time and character design are not bad, will accept the role without hesitation.
After all, it's no longer the era of Zhao's films dominating the market. There are fewer opportunities to tailor-make films for one's own people. Some supporting roles with excellent plots and likable characters are not only no worse than the main characters, but can also earn you favors from collaborators—especially if the collaborator is a director who understands interpersonal relationships and has real talent. If you do this favor well, there is a high chance that you will receive a "surprise reward" in the future.
For example, Rong Juezhang was initially relegated to a minor role in "A Better Tomorrow," produced by director Xu, but he didn't care about the order of billing and completed the increase or decrease of the main characters' screen time. So, director Xu felt very sorry for him and "tailor-made" another film for him as compensation for the delay.
For example, Huang Qianyan, who was a newcomer at the time and whose box office and reputation were not very good, first played a decorative role in other male-led films. Then, she seized a valuable audition opportunity by having a brief interaction with Director Xu on that set. She took the initiative to go to Director Xu's door to recommend herself for an audition and finally got the dream movie that made her an overnight sensation.
And this film is precisely a new adaptation of the classic ancient legend, "The Autumn Regret of a Beautiful Woman," which was co-produced by the two of them.
"And if you're willing to take on this role, then I'll assign you more demanding tasks later on, finding you more 'leading roles' or 'leading roles in ensemble scenes' to balance that out," Lu Yiting said, looking at her. "And I also have to tell you that choosing roles and projects is a very important and profound skill, and not only you but I am still learning and studying it..."
"Can you believe in yourself and learn?"
"It's not a bad thing to make your own contacts and choices—Ms. Zhuang and I will be watching you from behind, so you can confidently look at and choose from most of the normal invitations..."
"Thank you, Miss Zhuang, thank you, Sister Ting..." Li Sishi stood up, deeply moved, and expressed her gratitude to the two women in the simplest and purest way. She hadn't expected that they had made such preparations for her all along.
The relationship between celebrities and their teams is one of mutual support and restraint. The incident of her agent betraying her in the early hours of the morning is still fresh in her mind. How could she not be moved and excited that her momentary willfulness has been met with such understanding and support?
"Since we've taken on the responsibility of making you famous, this is what we should do." Zhuang Menghua looked gently at Li Sishi, whose eyes were brimming with tears, and then pushed another small document to her: "Take a look, this is your first 'feedback' after you learned to make your own choices."
Li Sishi wiped her eyes somewhat embarrassedly.
Then, with a hint of doubt, he took the small bound document and softly read the words on it: "Port City Celebrity Soccer Team Exhibition Match... Match Schedule?"
"Human relationships are an intricate web of connections in society," Zhuang Menghua said softly.
Li Sishi's acceptance of Cheng Hesheng's role as the second female lead also means that Jiang Zhiwei will get the second male lead role he really likes, and that Cheng Hesheng, as Jiang Zhiwei's friend, will be able to film his ideal version of "Big City, Small Love" in the future.
Under the premise of reciprocity, Jiang Zhiwei, captain of the Gangcheng All-Star Football Team, proposed inviting Qizhi youth academy players to participate in the exhibition match during the discussion on the selection of the opposing teams—therefore, Zhou Huiguang, a new generation youth academy player from the Qizhi team, was prominently listed in the match schedule.
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