Chapter 92: His Compromise
"Is it because you want this movie to do better at the box office that you did this?" Zhou Shengyi repeated Li Sishi's words, almost laughing in exasperation at her confidence. His initial reluctance to waste time watching her performance changed. "What makes you think that the female lead you changed will be more popular than the previous one?"
He wanted to see what kind of excuse Li Sishi, this seemingly arrogant newcomer, could come up with!
If we can't convince him... then even if she's Miss Zhuang's "new favorite," he'll still give her a good scolding!
“Based on my acting skills,” Li Sishi said, looking him straight in the eye without flinching, “and… I was able to get Leo to make a cameo appearance.”
"With the two Heavenly Kings making cameo appearances, plus you, the box office guarantee and comedy queen... and maybe even me, the 'legendary Miss Hong Kong,' isn't that a catchy gimmick?" Li Sishi said softly after finishing this string of gimmicky words, and then added, "And isn't the theme 'Delivery Boy Overpowers Two Heavenly Kings to Win the Beauty' tempting enough to make people want to buy tickets to see it?"
Upon hearing this response, Zhou Shengyi was both amused and exasperated: "Honestly, if such a commercial film could partner with Hong Kong's top actors and idols, simply printing their names on the poster would definitely attract a lot of people to buy a ticket and see it."
Especially in the early morning, this "idol" can attract a large number of female viewers who don't like his name. Although most of his movies are family-friendly and have a broad market, it is difficult to win over many of those viewers who are very particular about appearance.
These viewers who judge by appearance only like handsome guys like Rong Juezhang, Ling Chen, and Wu Shanluan. Even someone as strong as Brother Longsheng would find it difficult to win their favor.
Moreover, not long ago there was another battle between the two superstars. The little scene he designed where fans from two different groups fought at a concert ticket booth was based on this phenomenon.
However, of the two superstars mentioned in this short storyline, he could only get one of them to make a cameo appearance. This was because Shang Hanyou had lost money due to unsuccessful investments and had taken on many acting roles while trying to save money for his singing career, which led to them becoming friends through work.
Don't proverbs always explain things clearly and explicitly?
So-called "guest appearances" are actually "cameo appearances" made with "feelings" – if there were no feelings involved, how could you invite certain people to make a cameo appearance?
If you were to ask Zhou Shengyi which of these four Heavenly Kings was the most difficult to invite, he would say...
The answer would definitely be midnight.
Shang Hanyou and Hou Beihua are both friends he has worked with. Although Huo Gucheng has no experience working with him, Huo Gucheng is very interested in acting but doesn't have many film resources. He has said in public that he hopes to work with him. If you spend money and effort, you can basically invite him.
But Ling Chen is different, because he is a triple threat in singing, film and television and is doing quite well in all of them. Recently, he has become more cautious about accepting film invitations and has started to prepare to take on some art films to compete for awards in order to solidify his "divine status".
So now, he has no interest in taking on noisy commercial films. He turned down the invitation to the movie based on Street Fighter because of scheduling conflicts and his lack of interest in the project, which left the star-studded comedy film with only one member left.
Of course, even though the person who came in the early morning didn't show up, he wouldn't mind if his name was used to tease him in the movie.
It's true that Li Sishi and Ling Chen had previously collaborated on a mobile phone advertisement, so they definitely know each other. But could their relationship be so close that Ling Chen would change his principles to make a cameo appearance?
Thinking of this, Zhou Shengyi's eyes couldn't help but carry a hint of gossip: "Why do you say you can invite him? Are you sure?"
“Of course, I just finished filming an anniversary drama with him that could be edited into at least thirty episodes,” Li Sishi said without hesitation. “And a few days ago, when I finished filming and went to record, I recorded the original soundtrack of the TV series with him. At that time, I had the idea of revising the script, so I casually asked him about it.”
"And then he agreed?" If two people have worked together multiple times, they're good friends even without any romantic relationship, so getting someone to "make a cameo appearance" isn't really that difficult.
Didn't I just rely on our friendship to get Shang Hanyou, who was busy preparing for his concert, to come and make a cameo appearance?
Seeing Li Sishi nod, Zhou Shengyi was really in a dilemma: if Li Sishi could really bring in a big-name cameo to fill a gap in his movie and add some scenes to her role so that the cameo could be brought out, it really wouldn't be a big problem.
After all, the original character of the female lead "Lili" was a girl who was a bit spoiled and proud but also kind-hearted. In the second half of the story, Lili's scenes showed that she sympathized with the male lead, the delivery boy, but also understood that if the delivery boy didn't work hard, the two of them would definitely not be happy. So she only treated him as a friend who could confide in him. Therefore, in terms of acting, the original character and the character modified by Li Sishi only need to add a little bit of the "truth" plot, such as she takes off her disguise at a certain time and place.
The reason he was so angry was simply because he knew that Li Sishi's revised character design could indeed prevent the character from being so one-dimensional—but with this kind of setting, "Lili" would become a character with depth to explore, and relatively less likable.
The "Lili" who is truly insightful and clear-headed requires a certain amount of life experience for people to understand that she has also had a difficult life.
However, most of the audience for this kind of film are young people from the lower and middle classes who have little knowledge or life experience. Such a "Lili" combined with Li Sishi's beautiful appearance is likely to arouse those people's malice towards beautiful girls.
Then, they wouldn't see it as a choice Lili made out of necessity; they would only see Lili as a vain, materialistic woman...
In this fast-paced era, it's becoming increasingly difficult to reverse a "slow start and rise later" pattern and achieve success.
"So we need to let some word out in advance so that everyone knows that 'Lili' ultimately chose the delivery boy, not some king, the senior brother of Kyokushin-ryu, or the coach or anything like that." Li Sishi smiled. "If we can announce the results in advance, I believe many people will buy tickets just to see the delivery boy defeat so many strong opponents and win the heart of the beauty."
"In essence, this story is just a very simple and old-fashioned tale of an ordinary person's rise to success and growth."
"But because of your outstanding performance and the clever tributes you received, it has become a romantic comedy film that puts new wine in old bottles. It has kung fu, laughs, tears, heroes and beauties... and the two main characters' mutual pursuit."
"I have always believed that a relationship where two people love each other, a two-way relationship, is far stronger and longer-lasting than one-sided relationships."
"I'm not saying the original storyline is bad, but the original storyline gave me the feeling that the person Lili loved was just a hero in her heart, while the delivery boy became a 'hero' by defeating the senior disciple of the Kyokushin School, and finally got to ask Lili to go to Leo's concert together again at the end..."
"This seems like a happy ending where the prince finally defeats the dragon and wins the princess's heart, but if you think about it a little more, you can imagine the aftermath where the delivery boy loses his temporary heroic aura, and Lily can't accept the delivery boy who is no longer a 'hero,' leading to a regrettable separation between the two..."
"So the reason I say they're not a good match is twofold: firstly, Lili isn't good enough for the delivery guy's relationship, which is entirely maintained by his hard work; and secondly, on the surface, the delivery guy isn't good enough for Lili."
Li is a beautiful girl from a wealthy family.
“If only one person can maintain a relationship, it’s hard for that relationship to last.” Li Sishi said, looking very seriously at Zhou Shengyi’s thoughtful expression before continuing, “Didn’t your previous film with Hu Junyi, ‘May You Become a Dragon,’ already depict such a tragedy?”
"Have you seen that movie?" Thinking of this film, which didn't do well at the box office or in terms of reviews, Zhou Shengyi couldn't help but glance at her.
“I’ve read it, and I really liked it because it realistically depicts the development of real human emotions,” Li Sishi nodded in reply.
The plot of this movie is nothing more than a young couple who secretly pledge their love and elope to live in a big city. The wife works hard to support her husband's studies so that he can have a better future. However, after graduating and becoming successful, the husband complains that his wife is still the same as before, feeling that she is not good enough for a social occasion, but he is unwilling to help her improve. In the end, the two of them keep dragging things out in the name of what they think is good for the other, until they can no longer suppress their feelings and explode together. After a big fight, they sadly separate.
This film, in terms of both box office performance and current and future reviews, is one of the lowest-rated films starring Zhou Shengyi.
"You know this movie, and you should also know its 'ending,' right?" Zhou Shengyi smiled helplessly. "So you still want to 'learn' from it?"
“I know you don’t actually like making very commercial films, but rather want to express some of your own thoughts in the films.” Li Sishi did not answer Zhou Shengyi’s question directly, but instead went in another direction, “However, in order to get some things, you, your characters, and the stories you want to tell everyone—all have ‘compromised’.”
Upon hearing this, Li Sishi, who was intently staring at the person opposite her, could detect the subtle contraction in Zhou Shengyi's pupils.
“I’ve seen many of your movies, so I know very well how passionate you are about acting.” Sensing this, Li Sishi’s tone softened even more.
But within this gentleness lies a hint of blame and dissatisfaction, like a former fan questioning an idol who has abandoned their original aspirations and dreams, causing those who were pursued by her with such eyes and words to feel endless guilt.
For a moment, Zhou Shengyi's voice became quite hoarse, and his tone changed from the aggressive one he had used when questioning Li Sishi. Instead, he began to explain, almost as if he were feeling guilty: "Due to the limitations of film length and the perception of the lower-tier market, a story only needs to clearly explain the main plot, and then..."
"So you can just give up your original idea?" Li Sishi shook her head. "I know your character development isn't that simple. Even if you were just a minor supporting character without a name before, you were willing to give him a personality, a life..."
But now he has moved beyond simply being an "actor" and has been promoted to "producer"—from in front of the camera to behind the scenes, he has to consider far more things than before.
Therefore, at this crossroads of fate, he could only choose the "compromise path," which was easier and safer to reach his destination.
"But what if I, like Lili, am willing to try with you?" Seeing his unspoken explanation, Li Sishi slowly leaned closer, her firm yet clear eyes fixed on him, preventing him from backing down. Then, she asked, almost taking the initiative, "If Lili could also have a short, subtle subplot about her growth, corresponding to and complementing the main storyline of the delivery boy's growth, wouldn't we achieve a... win-win ending?"
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