Chapter 675

"Lin Suyang's position in the company is very similar to mine. I only take care of your business. To a certain extent, everyone knows that my focus of work is no longer in the company, but on you. If you leave the company in the future, I will definitely go with you."

He Heng said to Jiang Yuqian: "Lin Suyang is also like this. Li Zhibai's contract renewal negotiation with the company was handled entirely by Lin Suyang. Under normal circumstances, it is the agent who represents the company to negotiate the terms of contract renewal with the artist. But Li Zhibai's contract renewal negotiation was Lin Suyang representing Li Zhibai to negotiate with the company. You should understand the significance of this."

"However, I remember Lin Suyang also brings MX," Jiang Yuqian said. "MX is also one of the hottest boy bands in the company. Even if Ma Zhiyuan left, aren't the remaining few still very popular?"

"That's true, but the company is restructuring. Lin Suyang and Zhou Ping'an and the others have been fighting with the company for a long time. Although the company finally made concessions and didn't let MX change agents, the company also arranged an agent for each person in MX to be responsible for their personal schedule and work. Actually, to put it bluntly, it's to divide Lin Suyang's power. Lin Suyang also knows this, but there is no way," He Heng said. "So, Lin Suyang still manages MX in name, but how much control he actually has, that's unknown."

Jiang Yuqian: "The company let Star Entertainment specialize in idol artists. Have they achieved any results now?"

"The company is currently preparing a variety show that benchmarks against 'Idol Era'. In addition to this show, they also plan to make slow-life variety shows," He Heng said. "It should be preparing to build five shows around idol artists to provide continuous exposure windows for the company's idol artists."

Jiang Yuqian: "Five shows? That's a big move. I haven't seen them use such great efforts to prop up the actors and singers under them."

"Actors and singers don't cash in as quickly as idol artists," He Heng said. "And how can actors and singers be as obedient as idol artists? You haven't been in company management, so you might not understand the difference."

"I heard that when Zhou Ping'an was bringing Lu Yan He and their team before, except for Li Zhibai, others didn't dare to raise any opposition to his decisions at all. Even at that time, besides Li Zhibai, there were others who were quite popular. It seems that Cheng Hai's popularity was also quite high at that time."

"Yes, but idol artists are like this. Popularity is high, but as long as there is no exposure, popularity will soon slip, and there is almost no time to rest," He Heng said. "This is different from actors and singers. Idol artists are the type with the strongest commodity attributes among all types of artists, and their replicability is too strong."

Jiang Yuqian: "Hearing you say this, I feel fortunate that I didn't go into singing and dancing at the time."

He Heng: "Truly smart idol artists should actually be like Li Zhibai and Yan Liang. Whether it's singers or actors, besides the identity of an idol artist, they develop another path to enhance their uniqueness. The stronger the uniqueness, the weaker the replicable commodity attributes."

Jiang Yuqian said: "Has Cheng Hai also gone to film dramas recently?"

"Yes, after he went on 'Birth of an Actor', he won a lot of film and television resources for himself," He Heng said. "His image is good to begin with, and after having heat, naturally there is no shortage of resources. As long as he doesn't insist on being the lead, there will definitely be roles for him to act."

"Is he not acting as the lead now?" Jiang Yuqian was a bit surprised.

"Not for the time being," He Heng shook his head. "Except for starring in a drama for 'Jump Up' Theater, other dramas are not the first lead. Zhou Ping'an still cares about him quite a bit and didn't go to fight for the lead or offend people at this time."

People who really know the industry know that Cheng Hai's stage is the stage where he should least offend people. Even if he suffers a little loss and gets a little less benefit, the key is to lay out the network first so that people are willing to think of him and use him when there are projects.

Cheng Hai's biggest shortcoming in Star Entertainment/Woodpecker is that the company itself does not produce film and television dramas, so these resources for acting have to be fought for from the outside. Those film and television dramas outside, big and small roles, must have been divided internally first before they flowed out. So, if Cheng Hai wants good resources, he really needs to manage relationships well.

Another way is for Zhou Ping'an to use the resources of Yan Liang, Meng Li, and others to help Cheng Hai make exchanges.

This depends on whether Zhou Ping'an is willing to do so, and the attitude of Yan Liang and Meng Li themselves.

He Heng said: "Actually, if I were Cheng Hai's agent, at the current stage, I would let him sign a contract with 'Jump Up' Theater and strive to act in a few more 'Jump Up' Theater dramas."

"'Jump Up' Theater's dramas have good overall quality and results, but they are too short, and the attention and heat brought to the actors can't last for a long time," Jiang Yuqian said. "And everyone seems not to regard 'Jump Up' Theater's dramas as a normal work. So far, 'Jump Up' Theater's particularly classic and breakout dramas haven't appeared yet."

"Because this is a new model, it takes time for everyone to adapt to a new model," He Heng said. "You have to know that 'Jump Up' Theater's dramas have an average viewership rating of over 0.6%, which is very exaggerated. And their online viewership, the average viewership per episode is over 8 million. In fact, not counting 'Jump Up' Theater's dramas, there are no more than 30 dramas with an average viewership of over 8 million per episode each year. Now 'Jump Up' Theater has suddenly emerged and can make more than 40 such dramas."

Jiang Yuqian nodded.

"I didn't say 'Jump Up' Theater is bad, I just said that it hasn't had a drama that propped up a first-tier actor," Jiang Yuqian said. "Actually, to measure whether a drama has succeeded or become a breakout hit, it's to see if any actors have been propped up. This is the most realistic indicator."

"That's true," He Heng nodded. "However, there are also many newcomers and unknown actors who have been recognized by everyone through the dramas of this theater. In the past year, many newcomers have emerged in the entertainment industry, and many of them have emerged from 'Jump Up' Theater. Look at Director Wang Yu's new drama, 'In the Alley', one of the female leads is Yan Lingyu from 'Intern'. Before acting in 'Intern', she only performed on the stage of stage plays."

"Anxiety," Jiang Yuqian laughed. "To be honest, with so many actors with acting skills being discovered every year, I will also be anxious, feeling that my acting skills are just like that and can't compare to these people at all."

"Then you are overthinking it. Acting skills are one thing, starlight and audience affinity are another," He Heng said. "I think the most awesome thing 'Jump Up' Theater has done is to make audiences who didn't pay much attention to acting skills and didn't appreciate acting skills start to notice some actors because of their acting skills, giving these actors more opportunities."

"The 'Love Negotiation' I acted in before, it seems the feedback was very average?" Jiang Yuqian also went to act in a 'Jump Up' Theater drama before.

He Heng said: "Not bad, the viewership rating reached 0.89%, and the online viewership also broke 25 million, which can rank in the top five in 'Jump Up' Theater."

Jiang Yuqian breathed a sigh of relief.

He Heng: "'Phone' is about to be released. I communicated with Wang Jing's team. Now everyone likes to see female actors cherishing each other. We have prepared some plans, and you two should operate well when the time comes."

"Hmm," Jiang Yuqian nodded. "How is her team? It won't be the kind that stabs people in the back, right?"

"Not to that extent. The screenwriter of this drama is Lu Yan He, her team doesn't dare to mess around," He Heng shook his head. "Since her debut, every important work of Wang Jing has been related to Lu Yan He. She is a smart girl and won't mess around knowing your relationship with Lu Yan He."

"That's fine, as long as she doesn't stab me in the back, I can be friends with her," Jiang Yuqian said and sighed again. "But, Heng-jie, I feel that my performance in 'Phone' is not as brilliant as hers, what should I do?"

"Why do you think so? Your acting skills are not bad, and it's not like I haven't been to the set of 'Phone' to watch your performance," He Heng shook her head helplessly. "You really don't have to always feel that your acting skills are bad. Haven't you noticed? You are becoming less and less confident in your acting skills."

Jiang Yuqian: "Because... I act worse than others."

"Do you act worse than others? Who gave you such an idea? If you really acted badly, how did you win the drama 'The Golden Era' at the beginning? How could you get so much love from the audience in 'Squid Game'?" He Heng said. "Yuqian, you can walk to today step by step, there must be something unique about you. If you didn't act well enough, you couldn't have been popular for so long, and your dramas couldn't have been broadcast one after another."

Jiang Yuqian knew that what He Heng said was right, and also knew why He Heng said so.

She also knew that she had fallen into a paranoid obsession.

She even knew that her lack of confidence came from her failed transformation before, and from the fact that even the scripts Lu Yan He brought over were mainly commercial scripts.

Whether it was herself or in the eyes of others, she was not an actor based on acting skills.

"Forget it, it's okay," Jiang Yuqian shook her head. "Heng-jie, if my performance in 'Phone' doesn't satisfy the audience, it's also very normal. You should prepare the relevant public relations plan."

He Heng nodded helplessly.

"I also want to act in movies, don't you think my acting skills can act in movies?"

This day, on the set of "Friends", Zhan Yun talked about her next plan.

"I've been acting in TV dramas for the past few years, but doesn't everyone say that the production level of movies is higher? I also want to try acting in them," Zhan Yun said.

Bo Jin immediately pointed at Lu Yan He, who was communicating with Bai Jingnian about the next scene, and said: "If you want to act in a movie, just tell him and ask him to help you write a script."

"Why do I always have to find Yan He? It's embarrassing to always trouble him," Zhan Yun said. "I'll just find a script myself."

Bo Jin asked: "But are there any good movie scripts on the market now?"

"The ones that come to me are basically urban romantic comedies," Zhan Yun shrugged. "What about you?"

"Me? No one comes to me to act in movies," Bo Jin shook her head. "Now the domestic movie market is basically men's dramas, and even romantic movies have become much fewer."

"Because romantic movies don't sell well?" Zhan Yun thought for a while and said: "Now that you mention it, it seems the romantic scripts I received are basically light comedies, there are no pure romantic movies."

"Maybe so," Wen Minglan said. "I also wanted to act in movies before, but the roles I could get were either side-character female leads in men's dramas, or low-budget art films, or the common female images in suspense crime subjects. The types are very few and very limited."

"Minglan, you and Yan He have the same agent, didn't you ask him to help you write a script either?"

"I—" Wen Minglan looked back at Lu Yan He and said: "Not yet, but there should be later."

"I really envy you," Bo Jin shook her head. "Of course, I also envy myself for acting in 'Friends' at a young age and having my retirement insurance."

After Bo Jin said this, Wen Minglan and Zhan Yun both laughed.

"Don't laugh, I tell you, maybe ten or twenty years later, your most famous representative work will be 'Friends'," Bo Jin said with a smile. "Anyway, I have a proper mindset. I don't seek to be popular, I just hope to always have dramas to act in and not go out of style."

The three girls were chatting and laughing here. At this time, Yin Xincheng came over. Seeing their laughter one after another, he asked: "What are you chatting about, laughing so happily."

Zhan Yun asked: "Yin Xincheng, have you ever thought about making a movie?"

"I have, as an actor, who doesn't want to make a movie," Yin Xincheng admitted frankly.

"Then have you ever received a movie script?"

"Received... of course I have, but they were all very ordinary scripts, and they couldn't even pass my agent's level," Yin Xincheng said bluntly. "Why did you suddenly ask this?"

"We were just chatting about this," Zhan Yun said. "So everyone wants to make a movie."

"But there are really too few good movie scripts. Basically, good scripts won't be sent to our hands," Yin Xincheng shrugged. "We are just actors who act in sitcoms." "Has anyone said that to your face?"

"These kinds of words, I'll hear them more or less," Yin Xincheng shrugged again. "Maybe you girls are better off, anyway, I've heard others say this about me several times."

It's not strange that there is a contempt chain in the entertainment industry.

Even if Yin Xincheng is already very popular, if he meets a movie person like Ji Miao, he will still be a notch lower. This is not Yin Xincheng's inferiority or anything, but the whole environment will remind him that he is just an actor who started in sitcoms, and he is far from having the high-class feel of a movie person like Ji Miao, who is not as popular as him but has a high background.

Bo Jin: "I've also met this kind of person before. They didn't say it very directly, but in their words, they meant I wasn't a real actor. I took out my phone at the time, turned on the recording, and told him to say it again if he had the guts, and I would post it on Weibo, and then he chickened out."

"This kind of person is too disgusting," Zhan Yun said in solidarity. "If they have the ability, they should come and act in a sitcom. They don't even know what it would look like."

"It's really infuriating," Bo Jin said.

Wen Minglan immediately said: "In the future, if you encounter this situation, you should fight back like Bo Jin."

"Actually, in China, the status of sitcom actors is not very low," Wen Minglan said again. "What kind of people could act in sitcoms before? They were all old drama bones with superb acting skills polished in theaters who could act in sitcoms. China is not like the United States, which has divided actors into different grades from the beginning."

"Minglan is right," Lu Yan He's voice suddenly appeared.

【Content omitted for brevity】

Everyone was startled and looked over, only to find that Lu Yan He had finished his communication with Bai Jingnian and came over.

"In Hollywood, movies developed earlier than TV dramas, and TV dramas have made various distinctions. In the later stages, movie actors, theater actors, TV drama actors, and sitcom actors have those deep-rooted actor class barriers for many reasons. Our country is not in such a situation. Whether it's movies or TV dramas, although everyone says movies are higher-level than TV dramas, in fact, you go to see the Performing Arts Association, see the official organization's recognition of first-class actors and second-class actors, TV drama actors as long as they have representative works, they also have status."

Lu Yan He said: "Our country's sitcoms are not like the United States, which continuously launches new works. They are specifically aimed at the needs of sitcoms, and there is a group of people who specialize in sitcoms, continuously creating scripts and stably producing sitcom talents. Our country doesn't play this way. Before 'Friends' came out, how many years had it been since China had a sitcom? Which of the actors who acted in sitcoms before wasn't a famous actor?"

Actually, from sitcoms, you can see the difference between the Chinese and American performing arts environments.

In China, the principle is that if you are a good enough actor, you can act in any drama, movies, TV dramas, stage plays... that's just your different stage.

In the United States, they use a class barrier to distinguish between movie actors and TV drama actors. Of course, this also has a lot to do with national conditions. In China, basically there are no actors who only act in movies—

In the past, China's movie market was not that big, and it couldn't support actors who only acted in movies. Director Zhang's 'Zhang girls' were also a special product of the era. In fact, except for Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi (setting aside 'The Rebel Princess'), other 'Zhang girls' couldn't withstand the torrent of the era and threw themselves into the embrace of TV dramas.

Perhaps with the development of the domestic entertainment industry, the movie market is big enough to accommodate some actors to use "only acting in movies" to gild themselves, but now, what movie actors are higher-level than TV drama actors—

You can certainly say so, and many people think so, but from the actual situation, compared with the United States, these so-called contempt chains are not on the table.

Lu Yan He himself is an actor who hates this kind of contempt chain very much.

What movies are higher-level than TV dramas. Now the production level of TV dramas has come up, who is more refined than whom. It's not that the more refined, the higher the artistic degree. If so, short story writers are gods. Why are the widely circulated masterpieces and classics still mainly long novels?

Lu Yan He himself has been practicing acting in movies and being a Best Actor, but he will never stop acting in TV dramas because of this.

Of course, now because of the need for "opening up territory", his schedule is very precious and needs to be reserved for the filming of overseas movies. Therefore, he will take on fewer TV dramas. But in terms of absolute output, at least one "Friends" every year has already made him more diligent than most actors.

Yin Xincheng asked: "Yan He, if you were to make a movie, would you choose us as actors to act in it?"

"If the role is suitable, why not?" Lu Yan He said. "It's just that I've collaborated with you too much. Every year I have to film 'Friends'. Not to mention the audience, even my impression of you is concentrated on how you look in 'Friends'."

He waved his hand with a smile.

"You can try more styles and characters with completely different personalities than in 'Friends', like Yan Liang," Lu Yan He said. "Otherwise, it's indeed relatively easy for me to label my impression of you."

Bo Jin said: "We basically can't meet such roles."

"Can't meet?" Lu Yan He said. "Don't just look for leading roles to act in. Among the supporting roles, there are all kinds of characters. Up to now, many directors see me, and when they mention knowing me, it's because of the movie 'Three Mountains'. At that time, I went to make a cameo for one night, but in the director circle, the role they are most familiar with is this one. However, that was indeed the most special role I have ever acted in. Up to now, I haven't met such a crazy role again."

Bo Jin was thoughtful.

"Should I also find a witch to act in?"

Lu Yan He: "... I don't mean for you to just stare at this type of role to act in. My meaning is, as long as it's different from these characters in 'Friends', you can try it. Just make a cameo, don't be afraid of acting as a supporting role. Maybe some role will make you feel like you've opened up your Ren and Du meridians and found another track in the process of acting."

In this season of "Friends", Lu Yan He actually continues some of the content of the original second and third seasons.

Because it's completely filmed in the studio, everyone doesn't have to worry about paparazzi or substitute photographers sneaking photos.

When filming the third episode, everyone was filming well. After a scene was filmed, Lu Yan He suddenly heard Zhan Yun scream in surprise.

Lu Yan He followed her gaze.

A tall man in a brown jacket, quite handsome, was holding a bouquet of flowers and standing a few meters away.

"That must be Yang Zhoujin," Lu Yan He heard Wen Minglan ask Bo Jin in a low voice.

"Seems like it."

Zhan Yun's rich second-generation boyfriend.

Zhan Yun was very happy, jumping over, and hugged Yang Zhoujin in front of everyone without any hesitation.

"Why are you here?!"

Yang Zhoujin also hugged Zhan Yun, his smile was very bright, handsome, and his eyes were very focused.

"I'm going to accompany my mother to the UK this afternoon, and I won't be back for a few days, so before I leave, I came to see you," Yang Zhoujin said.

Bo Jin teased him half-jokingly at this time.

"Zhan Yun, aren't you going to introduce us?"

Only then did Zhan Yun seem to suddenly remember where this was. Her cheeks were slightly red, she came out of Yang Zhoujin's embrace, held Yang Zhoujin's hand, and introduced him to everyone.

"Yang Zhoujin, my boyfriend."

Bo Jin immediately teased with an "Oh oh~".

Wen Minglan also looked at the two of them with an ambiguous smile.

Yang Zhoujin nodded to them, and only when his gaze moved to Lu Yan He did it become a bit more serious.

He held Zhan Yun's hand and walked to Lu Yan He.

"Lu Zong, thank you for taking care of Xiaoyun usually."

"Oh, we are already good friends, it's not about taking care of her," Lu Yan He smiled slightly. "You can just call me Yan He, there is no Zong here."

Zhan Yun gently patted Yang Zhoujin's chest.

"I told you a long time ago, Yan He doesn't like others calling him Lu Zong," she shook her head and made a very helpless expression to Lu Yan He. "Believe me, I told him a long time ago, but he didn't believe it."

Lu Yan He smiled.

Yang Zhoujin looked at Zhan Yun with a doting smile. After Zhan Yun finished speaking, he said to Lu Yan He: "Okay, Yan He, I don't know if you are free at noon? If you have time, shall we have lunch together?"

Lu Yan He turned to look at Yan Liang and asked: "Are we going to read the script at noon later?"

Yan Liang nodded, "I have a place here that needs to be modified."

Lu Yan He showed a helpless and apologetic smile to Yang Zhoujin.

"We'll continue filming in the afternoon, we have to finish the script at noon," Lu Yan He politely declined.

Yang Zhoujin nodded and said: "Then let's make an appointment next time we have a chance."

"Okay," Lu Yan He nodded. (End of chapter)