Chapter 578: Jump Up Theater

Jiang Yuqian was busy filming with the *Telephone* crew.

Despite this, she was not idle on the business front; she officially announced two endorsements in one month, showing signs of her commercial value reaching its peak.

Jiang Yuqian currently had a higher level of buzz than even Lu Yan He.

Although Lu Yan He was not idle either, her exposure was much greater than his.

There are gains where there are sacrifices; in this regard, Jiang Yuqian received as much as she put in.

Moreover, in order to ensure she had projects airing, Jiang Yuqian took the initiative to contact Yuehu TV to request scripts, willing to star in a Jump Up Theater production later on.

In the current market, only Jump Up Theater productions had short production cycles and fast broadcast times.

Just as the theater was positioned from the start, for A-list actors, this theater had a huge advantage: the short production cycle could be used to fill gaps in their schedules.

In fact, the number of actors interested in Jump Up Theater exceeded their initial expectations.

Many actors took the initiative to ask for scripts, wanting to see if there were roles suitable for them.

However, Jump Up Theater was a theater focused on low-budget productions with uncomplicated filming requirements, which also meant that for many actors, the pay for these productions would not be high.

It wasn't that they were unwilling to pay high salaries, but because it was currently unknown how much advertising revenue this theater could generate.

No one knew what kind of market response this theater would receive.

It was a completely fresh novelty.

Jiang Yuqian, on the other hand, had a simple requirement: she needed a decent project to meet the audience soon—since *Squid Game* aired, she had only been in one project, a film, the second installment of *Behind the Golden Clothes*, and its box office performance was average, neither a success nor a failure. Although Jiang Yuqian had already determined that she would definitely follow the path of a big star rather than an actor in the future, she did not want to completely detach herself from the acting track.

Furthermore, Jiang Yuqian was very clear that no top superstar is detached from their work.

It's just that these works might not necessarily be recognized by the most authoritative awards, but they must have works that are very classic at the public level.

Therefore, Jiang Yuqian's salary requirements were not high, and she found several candidate scripts quite smoothly.

"Jiang Yuqian has her eye on these scripts from Jump Up Theater?"

Zhang Lan frowned, looking seriously at the few scripts in front of her that were not very thick.

The assistant on the side nodded and said, "We spent quite a bit of effort to find out."

Zhang Lan asked, "Then have you read these scripts? Which one do you think she will choose?"

"These scripts each have their own merits," the assistant said. "Our script consultants also said that the quality of these scripts is very high; the stories and character settings are all very good, and the audience will like them. Actually, these stories must be good; they were all published in *Jump Up* magazine, and only those with high demand for adaptation from readers were chosen to be adapted into scripts in the first batch."

Hearing this, Zhang Lan was somewhat surprised.

"Are they that good?"

"Yes," the assistant said.

"Then can we take them all?" Zhang Lan asked.

The assistant was a bit surprised and asked, "Take them all?"

"Anyway, we haven't received any other suitable scripts right now, have we?" Zhang Lan said. "It's rare to hear you say that these scripts are all very good."

"We were also surprised that the overall quality of the scripts for these Jump Up Theater productions is so high," the assistant said. "Yuehu TV and Arctic Light Video are quite impressive; they all found excellent screenwriters to lead teams to adapt these works, and the original works themselves were already very good."

Zhang Lan: "Fine, let me look at the scripts first to see if they are really as good as you say. If they are truly good, I will take them all."

At this moment, Shi Zhou arrived.

Shi Zhou was both her boyfriend and her agent.

"Reading scripts?" Shi Zhou saw the scripts in front of Zhang Lan at a glance and asked.

Zhang Lan nodded.

Shi Zhou: "A variety show has reached out."

"What show?"

"An acting competition show," Shi Zhou said. "It's benchmarked against *The Birth of an Actor*."

Zhang Lan was somewhat surprised and asked, "Are they looking for me to be a mentor?"

"No, it's to be a contestant," Shi Zhou said. "The mentors for this show are all directors, famous directors."

Zhang Lan immediately darkened her face and said, "Ask me to be a contestant, to compete? Are they crazy?"

Shi Zhou said: "The production team guarantees that if you are willing to participate, you will definitely enter the final round of the finals."

Zhang Lan: "This isn't about winning or losing. A popular female star like me going to be a contestant? I'm not going."

Shi Zhou: "They offered an eight-figure salary."

Zhang Lan's brows furrowed tightly.

An eight-figure salary... that was indeed not low. Even if Zhang Lan was a first-tier female star, in the current market, given Zhang Lan's status, she generally wouldn't get an eight-figure salary for a variety show. It's not like the first few years when video platforms were just emerging; in order to snatch stars, major platforms would directly throw money, smashing out one incredible sky-high price after another. Now, unless you reach the level of topic buzz and commercial value of Jiang Yuqian, you won't get that number.

No wonder Shi Zhou was tempted.

Zhang Lan still shook her head.

"No, I'm not going. No matter how much money they give me, I cannot go and be a contestant," Zhang Lan was very clear. "Jiang Yuqian is a guest mentor on *The Birth of an Actor*, and you want me to go to a similar show to be a contestant? Are they crazy? I might as well start a livestream and slap myself in the face."

Hearing Zhang Lan say this, Shi Zhou knew what she was calculating.

For Zhang Lan, in her acting career, actually everything can pass, only two people cannot be gotten past: Jiang Yuqian and Sui Xiaodie.

During the few years the three of them were all "top stars" at Star Entertainment, they fought so fiercely that it was impossible for them to let go.

Shi Zhou asked: "Then what do you want to do next? We haven't had any filming plans at all this year so far. Even if you take all these Jump Up Theater productions, it won't be enough to support your team."

Zhang Lan said: "Help me take some other variety shows. It's not like I'm unwilling to record variety shows. Is it possible that besides this acting competition show, there are no other shows looking for me?"

Shi Zhou: "There are, but they might not be that suitable. If it's not a reality show, the pay won't be very high. Moreover, if you participate in too many shows, it will create the impression that you are a variety show regular, so the quantity must be controlled."

It was worrying.

For a first-tier star, the most feared thing is encountering a situation like Zhang Lan's.

Actually, she wasn't as popular anymore, some problems had arisen, and the projects looking to cooperate with her had also decreased.

With fewer choices, she couldn't make too many changes to maintain her usual image, otherwise, others would know at a glance that you had encountered problems—and then others would be even more wary of cooperating with you.

Why do stars often travel with big bags and small bags, with all kinds of airs?

Besides the need to maintain a good image, they also have to let people see their good state, constantly releasing a signal of "I am doing very well" to the outside world—feel free to use me.

"Cheng Hai, you are actually quite suitable for this role." At the audition site for *Lies and Love*, Cheng Hai came to audition for the male lead of this play and received positive evaluations from the producer and director.

*Lies and Love* was a production of Jump Up Theater, telling the story of a college student returning home for summer vacation, encountering the change of his grandfather's passing, which sparked a farce of endless disputes over inheritance distribution.

"However, our budget for this drama is limited, and the salary budget for this role is also not high, only 100,000. Are you okay with that?" the producer asked.

Although Cheng Hai was auditioning for the male lead, because it was a family ensemble drama with a large number of roles, the salary budget for each actor became smaller.

Cheng Hai didn't know if Zhou Ping'an would agree.

He said: "I am okay with it myself, but regarding the salary, I have to talk to my agent."

"Fine, why don't you contact him as soon as possible and give us a reply?" the producer said. "We need to finalize it as soon as possible."

Cheng Hai nodded.

He went to call Zhou Ping'an.

After Zhou Ping'an heard the situation, he immediately became somewhat unhappy.

"Your buzz is quite high right now, and your popularity has recovered. They only offer you a salary of 100,000; that's too stingy," Zhou Ping'an said. "I'm coming over now to talk to them."

Cheng Hai: "Is that good? I feel like they have quite a lot of choices; there were quite a few male actors auditioning today."

"Are there any more popular than you?" Zhou Ping'an asked directly.

Cheng Hai: "Uh, there are still a few."

"They are even less likely to accept this 100,000 salary price," Zhou Ping'an said. "Based on your performance and buzz on *The Birth of an Actor* right now, this price is an insult to you."

Cheng Hai hesitated for a moment and said: "Their budget really doesn't seem to be much."

"If their budget isn't much, I'll introduce investors to them," Zhou Ping'an said. "It's fine if we bring capital into the crew."

Cheng Hai was stunned, not expecting Zhou Ping'an to say this.

"Anyway, the investment for this drama is only over two million, so the pressure isn't high. There are several investors interested in you right now who are willing to add some weight to your project," Zhou Ping'an said. "Wait for me, I'll be there within half an hour."

After hanging up the phone, Cheng Hai was a bit bewildered.

The male actor competing with him for this role was Wang Lu, who had also acted in *Sanshan*.

While Cheng Hai was waiting for Zhou Ping'an outside, Wang Lu had also finished his audition and was preparing to leave alone with his assistant.

"You finished your audition?" Wang Lu saw him and greeted him.

Cheng Hai nodded and said: "Finished, how about you?"

Wang Lu said: "They felt I wasn't very suitable for the male lead and asked if I was willing to play the role of the neighbor's son. I have to go back and communicate with my agent."

Cheng Hai nodded.

★????? ★￠O

Wang Lu asked: "How about you?"

Cheng Hai said: "Same, waiting for the agent's opinion."

Specific situations can only be kept secret at times like this, and anyway, he wasn't lying.

Wang Lu nodded, not pursuing it further, "Then I'll go first, bye-bye."

Once outside, Wang Lu sent a message to his agent: I ran into Cheng Hai when I came out just now; he auditioned before me, and I feel like he probably got good feedback.

Agent: How about you?

Wang Lu: They asked if I would accept the role of the neighbor; I looked at the script, it's only three scenes.

Agent: Three scenes? Then there's no need to act in it.

Wang Lu: Yeah, I came for the male lead. If I had known, I should have sent a message to Lu Yan He in advance. I didn't expect so many people to be competing today; I originally thought not many people would be interested in this kind of low-budget drama.

Agent: Who all is there?

Wang Lu: The ones I recognize are Cheng Hai, Zhong Li, Xu Huihan, Ning Chengzhang.

Agent: That's fine, none of them are first-tier.

Wang Lu: But compared to them, my competitive advantage isn't big. This is the first time I've been told on the spot at an audition that I wasn't suitable and asked if I was willing to change roles.

Agent: This isn't necessarily their problem. Jump Up Theater auditions all use Lu Yan He's method; basically, it still depends on whether the role is suitable. Maybe you just aren't suitable for the role. Don't overthink it; if it's not suitable this time, maybe it will be next time.

Wang Lu: Do you think if I said hello to Lu Yan He, I could get this role? Is there a chance?

Agent asked: How is your relationship with Lu Yan He? Are you very familiar? I heard that generally, those who want to use connections to get roles from him don't succeed.

Wang Lu: Don't know, I haven't tried either; don't know if he would buy it.

Agent: Then you'd better not risk it, lest you be too clever by half.

Wang Lu: Could Cheng Hai have said hello to Lu Yan He?

Agent: How would I know? Don't think so much; thinking too much is useless. They already said you aren't suitable for this male lead, didn't they?

After Lu Yan He learned that *Lies and Love* had chosen Cheng Hai as the candidate for the male lead, he was quite pleasantly surprised.

Because of the reason for He Sha's withdrawal from the show *The Birth of an Actor*, Cheng Hai's buzz continued to rise even before the show aired.

And after the first round of competition ended, Cheng Hai also performed very well in the second round, and with good luck, he entered an all-advancing performance team, entering the third round of the show's competition.

His popularity and buzz quickly warmed up because of this show.

And because his image and age were exactly what the market needed most, as far as Lu Yan He knew, Cheng Hai's acting offers suddenly increased.

And because Jump Up Theater was a fresh novelty and different from mainstream traditional dramas, closer to television movies in the United States, no one knew what kind of response it would have when thrown into the market. Currently, basically no first-tier actors dared to take risks and be the first to eat the crab.

The only ones willing to act were Yan Liang and Jiang Yuqian. Regardless of the reasons they gave on the surface, both of them coming had something to do with Lu Yan He.

At a time when Cheng Hai had choices and was at the peak of the market's enthusiasm for him, he was still willing to come to the *Lies and Love* crew to audition and act in this drama for a relatively low salary figure, which was actually a form of disguised gratitude, gratitude toward Lu Yan He.

These words didn't need to be said in person.

Just as Lu Yan He had never told Cheng Hai that it was Lu Yan He who took the initiative to suggest Cheng Hai for *The Birth of an Actor*.

"For the script of *The Silent Staircase*, will you star in it?" Chen Ziyan brought out another Jump Up Theater production, a script adapted from a short mystery novel written by Liu Jiazhen.

Lu Yan He was quite surprised.

"Finally, a script suitable for me?" ===== CHAPTER 579 =====