Chapter 734: Awards, Nominations, Awards Season Begins (10,000 words)

The news of Zhou Ping'an ending his collaboration with Yan Liang sparked intense discussion online, and within the industry as well.

However, although the discussion was so heated, not many people were actually surprised.

Over the past five or six years, whoever was the hottest agent in the entertainment industry — any list that didn't include Zhou Ping'an simply wouldn't be recognized.

Counting all the agents in the entertainment industry, none had better fortune than Zhou Ping'an.

He caught the rise and fame of Lu Yan He; Li Zhibai's successful transition to acting and ascent to the top of the traffic pyramid was in his hands; Yan Liang's late surge, consecutive hit dramas, winning major awards, and leap in status were all witnessed by him. Not just these three — Ma Zhiyuan, who was once even more "red-hot" than these three, he saw him rise to great heights and saw his tower collapse, and he was there for it all.

In any case, Zhou Ping'an has never lacked A-list artists in his stable — more than one, even.

Even now, with Yan Liang gone, it seems he truly has no A-listers left. But counting, he still has first-tier actress Meng Li under contract, as well as the rising former idol Cheng Hai. Especially Cheng Hai — after "The Birth of an Actor," Cheng Hai made a comeback and suddenly entered every producer's priority list, especially the "about-to-explode" list.

Mainly because all his former teammates have become top-tier or first-tier stars one by one — as long as he doesn't leave the table, no one dares say he can't do it.

Wasn't Yan Liang once mocked by everyone, only able to serve as a backdrop for Lu Yan He and Li Zhibai?

The Feng Zhi combination —

This combination really has some real skill.

Seven members — aside from the two who left the industry, the other five: three are already super first-tier A-listers in the circle, one is an "about-to-explode" talent, and one is on the singer path. Judging by the current situation, all of them are thriving.

There are even many people who joke that any agency with half a brain should hurry up and spend big money to bring those two who left back.

Of course, the more people joking online, the more holes get poked in Zhou Ping'an's heart.

Yan Liang's departure was, of course, a massive blow to him.

Whether it's Meng Li or Cheng Hai, compared to Yan Liang, they simply can't be mentioned in the same breath. Not to mention, the combined income of those two can't match half of Yan Liang's. Let alone the hidden resources that Yan Liang's various film and TV projects, commercial deals, variety shows, endorsements, and all kinds of collaborations brought in — one could pull a hundred along with it.

However, when one door closes, another opens.

Zhou Ping'an had long since prepared for Yan Liang's departure.

Nowadays, Meng Li has high buzz and massive traffic. Setting aside her actual achievements as an actress, she is solidly a first-tier female star.

Among female stars of her age group, aside from Jiang Yuqian who can steadily hold the edge over them, the others — today you beat me by a margin, tomorrow I press you down — the wheel of fortune keeps turning.

Although Meng Li's film and TV works aren't big hits, her personal buzz is huge. Even the tiniest thing, with some maneuvering, can land on the trending searches. In this internet age, her commercial value is maxed out.

And Cheng Hai is walking down Yan Liang's path.

He himself doesn't have a "drama queen" personality, nor is he the type of artist who likes to "stir up trouble."

Zhou Ping'an also happens to not want him to walk a "today it's blazing hot oil, tomorrow the oil slips and you fall" extreme path like Meng Li.

Therefore, for the past year, Cheng Hai has basically just stayed on set.

Either the second male lead, or the third male lead, or ensemble dramas. Over the year, he filmed four dramas and made a cameo in one movie.

Zhou Ping'an was determined to cultivate a new A-lister.

And to solidly become an A-lister, in today's entertainment industry environment, without works backing you up, it's no longer possible.

This isn't the industry environment from five or six years ago where traffic swept everything aside.

Not to mention Lu Yan He, Li Zhibai, and Yan Liang — Liu Zefan, Li Yuefeng, Wang Dashan, Yin Xincheng... the male actors who have emerged in the past three to five years, each one more competitive than the last, all with hit dramas to their name. They have both popularity and fame, and also representative works — their backs are stiff and solid.

When there are more tall people, there's no need to pick the tallest among the short.

The entire entertainment industry environment has been so competitive that the ecology has changed dramatically.

Top-tier stars are of course still top-tier, with extremely high commercial value. If you want to make some quick money, or if new capital is entering and needs to pull together a decent "money-magnet" project, then of course you can still throw money at the top-tier stars.

But those big productions from the various film and TV companies — they no longer swarm to fight over top-tier stars and grab celebrities.

When there are better, more suitable options, why choose a wooden-faced actor who can only stare blankly, unable to even count their own eyelashes while acting?

Zhou Ping'an hopes Cheng Hai will walk the actor's path steadily and solidly.

Of course, he'll still make money — he has no plans to transform into an agent of both virtue and artistry.

First, as Yan Liang said, he is currently in contact with Shijin, preparing to join Shijin's "Entertainment Plan," to be in charge of artist coordination and operations.

Second, he also fully understands that if he keeps working for others, he'll always just be making wedding clothes for others.

Zhou Ping'an has already talked with both Cheng Hai and Meng Li — if he goes to Shijin, they will go with him.

Needless to say, as long as he can bring them career development, whether at Woodpecker (Star Entertainment) or at Shijin, the difference isn't big.

For them, the agency is just a concept — the agent is the real helmsman of their ship.

Zhou Ping'an is just frustrated that he couldn't tie Yan Liang to his ship.

If Yan Liang doesn't go with him, his bargaining chips in negotiations with Shijin will be reduced quite a bit.

Fortunately, after all these years of accumulation, Zhou Ping'an has more than two or three cards in his hand.

He won't leave the table — he's still drawing cards.

"Zhou Ping'an came to ask me for a role for Cheng Hai." Lu Yan He sounded a bit helpless.

Chen Siqi came over carrying a plate of grapes, set it on the coffee table, and pressed herself against him.

"Didn't Cheng Hai already star in a Jump Up Theater drama before?"

"He proposed that Cheng Hai could film three projects for me for free, as long as one of them gives Cheng Hai the lead." Lu Yan He sighed. "I don't even know how to reply to him."

Chen Siqi raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"He's... playing hardball."

Not to mention Cheng Hai himself is currently a fairly hot actor in his rising period — even if his pay isn't on par with first-tier, he's absolutely not in the state of a small-time actor.

Even for a small-time actor, trading one lead role for three no-pay gigs —

Putting it that way, it seems many people would think that anyone with foresight should agree.

Actually, putting yourself in his shoes — at this moment, if you were an ordinary person, and someone asked you to work for free for three years on the topmost project in your industry, just so that after three years you might be able to become a big name in that industry based on that project — would you go?

You have to understand, even if you don't go, you're already doing fine, with visible upward mobility. You can earn money standing up, with food and clothing secured.

When actually making the decision, what you're considering is absolutely not a single choice across the long dimension of life — it's gambling three years of no income on an unknown future, giving up a state that's already on track to gamble on a tomorrow that might be better.

More crucially, it's not Cheng Hai who's gambling — it's Zhou Ping'an.

This means Cheng Hai won't make money, and Zhou Ping'an won't make money either.

Zhou Ping'an, that penny-pinching miser with money in his eyes, was able to take this step.

Just as Chen Siqi said, he went all in.

He wanted to propel Cheng Hai into A-list status in one step.

In the current environment like this, if Lu Yan He's three films still can't make an actor into A-list, it can only mean that actor's luck is bad — forget about whether they'll be popular or not, just survive these few years of bad luck.

Chen Siqi asked: "What do you think?"

Lu Yan He said: "From a commercial standpoint, this is of course a very worthwhile deal, but this person is Cheng Hai — I can't possibly let him act in my films for free. Zhou Ping'an knows this too. He deliberately put his stance this low only because he wants to get the role from me — when he clearly knows that I will definitely still pay Cheng Hai a fee."

"This person's heart is still as black as ever."

"He is Zhou Ping'an."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

"Then will you help Cheng Hai?"

"When I can help, of course I'll help." Lu Yan He nodded.

In the original body's memories, during those years when he was down on his luck, even if Cheng Hai didn't stand up for him on stage and behind the scenes like Li Zhibai did, whenever he could look out for him, he definitely did. The reason they weren't that close was purely because they didn't live together, and Feng Zhi faded from popularity early, so group activities were few, and their contact dwindled along with that.

Chen Siqi: "But Zhou Ping'an sent you a message like this. If you don't agree, it's as if he's already put his stance this low, and you still aren't willing to lend a hand to a former teammate who came to you — his heart really is black."

Lu Yan He: "It's fine, he can't get black on me."

"Have you figured out how to reply?" Chen Siqi asked curiously.

Lu Yan He nodded.

He typed out a message on his phone and showed it to Chen Siqi.

Chen Siqi took one look and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"You're the ruthless one."

— If you're willing to let go and transfer Cheng Hai's contract to me, I can offer three film contracts to the other actors you bring.

Lu Yan He tapped send and put down his phone.

"Too bad I can't see Zhou Ping'an's face when he receives this message — it must be quite a sight." Chen Siqi said regretfully.

Lu Yan He hugged Chen Siqi, smiled, and said: "Although I can't see it, I can imagine it."

When Zhou Ping'an saw Lu Yan He's reply, the corner of his mouth did twitch involuntarily a couple of times.

However, because he was in the middle of discussing business with someone, no matter how many emotions he had inside, he had to tuck them away, endure, and pretend nothing was wrong.

Zhou Ping'an looked at Jiang Ming sitting across from him.

This male actor, from the same batch as Huang Kairen and Zeng Qiao, had never truly become hugely popular, but his recognition and popularity were both decent. From his debut he played male leads, and afterward he progressed steadily, smoothly all the way.

"Your conditions are good in every aspect. If you sign with me, I will make you A-list within three years," Zhou Ping'an said to Jiang Ming. "Among male actors in your age group right now, not to mention those going the serious drama route, there aren't many who can carry a project. The early thirties age, for a male actor, is a fallow period — you can no longer play the young idol roles, and middle-aged themed material hasn't yet taken shape."

In the film and TV drama market, when male actors are between thirty and forty, it's the time when there are relatively the fewest roles for them. The market's trendy ancient romance and modern romance — they've already passed that age, and if they act in them, they'll be mocked for their age. But for more serious crime, suspense, life, and period themes, men in this age range often aren't the main characters either.

The few good projects and good roles that exist — too many monks, too little meat — would naturally prioritize A-list male actors like Huang Kairen, Zeng Qiao, and Zhou Yuning.

Jiang Ming, who had been playing male leads since his debut, had no choice but to face either acting as a token male lead in female-themed life dramas and workplace dramas, or only acting as the lead in some non-mainstream genre films.

Even for projects like The Summit and The Gold Rush, which pair him with a young male actor for dual male leads, his age couldn't create enough of a gap with the young male actor, so he couldn't compete for them.

This was the dilemma Jiang Ming currently faced.

Right at this moment, Zhou Ping'an came to find him.

Jiang Ming asked directly: "What kind of roles can you help me get?"

Zhou Ping'an said: "At least one big male lead role tailor-made for you per year — this is a condition I can write into the contract."

Jiang Ming looked at Zhou Ping'an with some surprise.

In his eyes, Zhou Ping'an was just a very traditional Agent. Did he have the ability to make platforms and producers build "big male lead" dramas for him?

Zhou Ping'an said: "The specifics of how to build it involve some of my own work adjustments, which I can't disclose to you for now. But what I can tell you is, if you sign with me for five years, you don't need to worry about not having roles to act. Not only big male lead dramas, but films as well."

Jiang Ming had been in this industry for so long and had seen too many people drawing empty pies.

But when the words came from Zhou Ping'an's mouth, he couldn't help but believe a little.

Zhou Ping'an's abilities were very clear to the entertainment industry.

Not to mention the actors Zhou Ping'an had personally cultivated — since Meng Li changed her Agent to him, her career had directly gone up a notch.

One dating variety show kept her trending on the hot search for over half a year.

One film, "The Road So Far," made her the female actor whose starring film was selected for the Main Competition Unit of the Hexi Film Festival.

There was also a xianxia drama, which Zhou Ping'an helped her get access to. While it was a hit, it also secured her position in the A-list.

If it weren't for what Zhou Ping'an had accomplished, Jiang Ming wouldn't be sitting here discussing all this with Zhou Ping'an.

Zhou Ping'an said: "I don't actually need to say much about specific promises. I only sign a few actors like this. Even if you don't want to strive, I won't want to see you sitting idle. Getting each of you promoted is the only way not to ruin my industry reputation. One big male lead drama per year, A-list within three years — this is what I promise you. As a signing gift, when you sign with me, there will be an important role in a top-tier in-circle film production given to you."

Jiang Ming knew he was tempted.

He had only one last question.

"Among your current actors, there's still a Cheng Hai. He and I aren't that far apart in age, right?" he said. "If the same resource comes up, one that suits both me and him, what would you do?"

"The capable one gets it," Zhou Ping'an said frankly. "When I was simultaneously managing Lu Yan He, Li Zhi, Li Zhibai, Ma Zhiyuan, and Yan Liang, I never saw them fight over resource allocation. You should be happy that Cheng Hai is under me, because this way I can get more information, more resources — which means selecting projects more suited to you."

Jiang Ming nodded.

He had nothing more to say.

Zhou Ping'an's answer was sincere, and honest — no blarney, no brush-off.

Jiang Ming said: "I still have about three months before my contract expires here. I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Zhou Ping'an nodded.

"I believe we'll have a pleasant cooperation," Zhou Ping'an said with a slight smile.

By the end of October, "Tropical Rainy Season" had been released in China for a total of one month, and the film's box office had broken 250 million. Combined with the box office from other parts of Asia, especially in its home base of Malaysia, where the box office broke 10 million US dollars and took this year's annual box office crown, its box office in the Asian region officially broke 50 million US dollars.

However, compared to its strong box office performance in the Asian region, "Tropical Rainy Season" performed relatively much weaker in Europe and America. After a month of release, it only totaled 11 million US dollars combined, with North America so far only at 4.5 million US dollars.

Actually, it was already very good—just not "miracle-level" good.

Now Midoriya hopes the film will perform strongly during awards season, helping it achieve a solid box-office long tail afterward.

In fact, Tropical Rainy Season's North America awards-season run has already begun; several regional critics' picks have been announced. In the Best Supporting Actor category, Lu Yan He took one of the trophies, while the others went to Judd Clark of The Showgirl and Javier Maxwell of Belfast.

Strictly speaking, these regional critics' awards aren't considered bellwethers of the North America awards season, but you can generally get a rough sense of who's in the running from the critics' prizes that announce results first.

Basically, as long as no dark horses emerge during this awards season, the three of them will be the ones competing for this award.

Lu Yan He and his Friends buddies threw themselves wholeheartedly into filming the show, hoping to wrap up this season's content as quickly as possible.

At the same time, Chen Siqi's side also began making moves.

The collected review articles from this year's second International Critics' Film Festival have been translated, and a book launch will be held in Los Angeles in November.

This time, Chen Siqi plans to