Chapter 160: The Cavalry Captain and the Seven Fairies Appear on the Spring Festival Gala

Yan Li became an internet celebrity after getting into a verbal fight with Zhang Dahuzi.

He discovered that the benefits of being hyped to fame were numerous: the promotion of "Lu Xiaofeng Legend" progressed more smoothly, and securing investment for "Investiture of the Gods" became easier.

Beijing, a certain café

Yan Li met with Zhang Zhilin and his agent; due to the man's appearance and demeanor, he was willing to have another chat.

If the other party was willing to exchange some resources, Lu Xiaofeng wasn't off-limits for him to play.

Zhang Zhilin debuted as a singer; his most well-known role was Guo Jing in the 1994 version of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes."

He had also appeared in some TVB dramas and a few films, making him a second-tier artist from Hong Kong, with influence mostly concentrated in Cantonese-speaking regions.

In the past two years, Zhang Zhilin began developing in mainland China, focusing on wuxia themes; this year's moderately popular "Ni Shui Han" made him the male lead, but he was overshadowed by the second male lead, Zhong Hanliang.

Yan Li didn't have a strong impression of him beyond Guo Jing—his biggest label was Yuan Yingyi's husband.

To be honest, although Yuan had somewhat faded in recent years and had few works, she was once the leading actress of Hong Kong's entertainment circle; her status and fame still overshadowed Zhang Zhilin's.

But precisely because of this, even with Hong Kong and Taiwan premiums, Zhang Zhilin's fee wasn't high.

Similarly, in terms of selling dramas, Zhang Zhilin wasn't as effective as today's mainland superstars like Chen Kun or Huang Haibing.

Many mistakenly believed Hong Kong and Taiwan actors were better at selling dramas.

That wasn't wrong—but it depended on the person!

Hong Kong and Taiwan artists like Xie Tingfeng, Zhang Weijian, Lin Zhiying, and F4 were indeed stronger than mainland young male leads, but some second- or third-tier Hong Kong and Taiwan artists simply couldn't compare to those hot mainland stars.

TV stations aren't foolish—they care about fame, not Hong Kong or Taiwan ID cards.

A few years ago, because the mainland entertainment industry hadn't yet developed, there weren't many young male or female stars with commercial appeal, and resources were scarce; moreover, many commercial projects were produced by Hong Kong and Taiwan crews, so they preferred using Hong Kong and Taiwan artists.

That's why a phenomenon emerged: even second- or third-tier Hong Kong and Taiwan actors were more sought-after than some hot mainland young stars.

But in the past two years, new talent has continuously emerged in the mainland entertainment industry, and more and more artists can now carry major projects.

As for films, let's not discuss them; in television, more and more mainland production teams prefer mainland artists—the overall trend has shifted from Hong Kong and Taiwan dominance to a standoff, even a slight reversal.

Yan Li clearly favored the mainland side, but he didn't despise Hong Kong and Taiwan artists.

He wouldn't force them, but he wouldn't reject them either.

Zhang Zhilin himself had little to offer Yan Li in terms of exchange, and his wife was average at best.

The reason Yan Li was willing to chat with him was because of his company—Zedong Film.

The company's name wasn't well-known, but its two bosses were famous: Hong Kong directors Wong Jing and Liu Zhenwei.

Their status in the Hong Kong film industry needed no explanation, and their connections were extensive.

Yi'an's main business was television dramas, but it couldn't completely abandon films; artist management also needed consideration, especially for Fan Xiaopang, whom Yan Li wanted to push into the top tier as one of the "Four Dan and Two Bing"—and that required film resources.

Wong Jing, Yan Li didn't really count on—he was an art-house director, hard to deal with.

Liu Zhenwei was different—he made commercial films, understood the game well, and had wide connections in Hong Kong; even if he couldn't get Zhang Zhilin into his own films, introducing other resources would be acceptable.

So the meeting was brief; Yan Li nearly said outright: if Zhang Zhilin wanted a role, he'd have to trade Hong Kong film resources.

Zhang Zhilin's expression wasn't good—not because he refused, but because he couldn't make that decision himself.

His company might not be willing to sacrifice its own interests for him; he hadn't even gotten much use of his company's own film resources.

"Director Yan, I'll try my best to secure it. Please give me some time."

Zhang Zhilin didn't want to give up—this opportunity was genuinely good for him.

Director Ju Jueliang, who directed "Lu Xiaofeng Legend," was close to him and privately urged him to pursue it, believing it could become a milestone in his career.

No actor doesn't want fame; after years of mediocrity, Zhang Zhilin wanted to taste what it was like to be a top star.

"I'll try to hold time for you, but others might change their choices, so hurry up."

Yan Li had a good impression of Zhang Zhilin—perhaps even a very good one; among the Hong Kong and Taiwan artists he'd met, this man's speech, conduct, and personality were top-tier.

Unfortunately, Zhang Zhilin had too few cards; Yan Li giving him this opportunity was already somewhat exceptional, even biased.

As they were about to part, his agent took a phone call and stepped away; Yan Li paused, then asked Zhang Zhilin a question.

"Mr. Zhang, you've been developing in mainland China—why not consider switching to a mainland company?"

"This…"

Zhang Zhilin opened his mouth slightly, but Yan Li said no more; he smiled and left first.

To be honest, Zhang Zhilin's personality and ambition didn't quite match Yan Li's requirements for Yi'an artists.

But Yan Li believed "Lu Xiaofeng Legend" would significantly advance his career, so signing him to earn some profit was better than letting another company's artist take the role.

Chen Kun's Rongxinda was still quite capable; there were many potential collaborations.

Huang Haibing's company wasn't strong, but he himself was principled—his fee and future cooperation could be negotiated, and he was even willing to help bring Yi'an artists into other productions and so on.

Honestly, Yan Li hadn't realized how complex casting was in a medium- to large-scale production until he started handling it himself.

It's said that during the casting of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," Nie Yuan and Huang Xiaoming competed for the male lead, involving behind-the-scenes power struggles among copyright holders, producers, and investors.

The role of Xiao Long Nu was originally set for Zhou Young Master; she even publicly stated in interviews that she was preparing for it, but later someone else was cast.

Yan Li couldn't help wondering: if a 30-million-investment project was already this chaotic, how fierce would competition be for billion-dollar projects in the future?

"Lu Xiaofeng Legend" had mostly male roles, and Yan Li prioritized profit.

If a future drama focused on female leads…

He had once experienced this with "Happy Heaven Seven Fairies," but those were minor actors and newcomers; Yan Li really wanted to see how the established female stars operated.

————

In December, the "Bright Sword" production team officially began filming in Hebei Province.

Yan Li's role was also confirmed; since "Bright Sword" was set to be next year's most popular drama, he wanted to appear in it.

"The Legend of Xue Rengui" intended to cast him as the male lead; Yan Li had confidence in his appearance and acting, but his fame and ability to carry a drama were still lacking.

Fortunately, "Emperor Wu of Han" and "Happy Heaven Seven Fairies" were about to air; he could then use "Bright Sword" to boost his visibility.

He didn't need to become a superstar, but at least he couldn't drag down "The Legend of Xue Rengui" due to TV stations cutting his fee.

Originally, they planned to give Yan Li a substantial role—either Wei Monk early on or Duan Peng later.

But the next two months were exactly when Yan Li would be busiest, plus the Spring Festival—he simply didn't have time to stay long on "Bright Sword"; after reviewing the script, he chose a minor but standout character.

Captain of the Cavalry Unit, Sun Desheng!

In terms of screen time, the role wasn't negligible, but he didn't appear often; yet his presence was strong—whether fighting alongside Li Yunlong for close combat, recounting how he joined the Eighth Route Army, or his final charge, every moment was striking.

Yan Li even felt playing this role would be easier for audiences to remember than playing Duan Peng.

Meanwhile, Yan Li's horsemanship was good, perfectly matching the cavalry captain's profile.

The only issue was that Yan Li looked slightly too young—but it wasn't a big problem; from the moment he chose the role, he started growing a beard, and with makeup, he could meet the character's requirements.

According to "Bright Sword"'s setting, Sun Desheng joined Shi Yousan at age twelve, fought for over a decade, later refused to become a traitor, joined the Eighth Route Army, and died in battle during the 1942 anti-encirclement campaign.

So Sun Desheng's age should have been only in his twenties, at most early thirties.

Yan Li's age was roughly similar, but soldiers of that era, hardened by war, would naturally look older—his appearance couldn't be too youthful.

Because his screen time was limited, Yan Li didn't need to rush into the set; he could join in January without issue.

Besides that, Yan Li didn't push any other actors into "Bright Sword."

There were only two significant female roles: Xiucin and Tian Yu.

Tian Yu was played by Hai Run's newcomer Tong Lei, a longtime acquaintance and friend of Yan Li's; it was thanks to her that he obtained inside information about "Bright Sword."

More importantly, he heard that Zhou Weiyi and she had become very close in that Hai Yan drama, and Zhou had even asked him about Tong.

She might become his "sister-in-law" someday; Yan Li hesitated, then decided not to snatch her opportunity.

Still, he couldn't help wondering: Zhou Weiyi had clearly seen "Sui Tang Heroes," yet he still fell for Tong Lei—it made Yan Li find that drama even harder to watch.

As for Xiucin, the director clearly wanted a less attractive, simple, and rustic female actor.

None of the actresses Yan Li recommended suited the role, so he gave up.

As for Lin Jiachuan and the others, they each had their own roles and no standout parts; they didn't necessarily need to appear in "Bright Sword."

…

At the same time "Bright Sword" began filming, promotion for "Emperor Wu of Han" and "Happy Heaven Seven Fairies" also started.

Both dramas were officially scheduled.

One was CCTV's New Year drama, premiering in early January; the other targeted schoolchildren during winter break, premiering in late January.

As lead actor and producer, Yan Li had to appear in promotions for both dramas.

He first appeared on CCTV-8's "TV Drama Today," then went to Shandong TV's "Sunshine Express" and Tianjin TV's "Variety Food Street."

Back then, variety shows were relatively scarce.

For provincial terrestrial channels, it was easier; but for satellite channels competing nationwide, they might only air a few programs per week.

Many programs were first broadcast on terrestrial channels, then selected high-viewership episodes aired on satellite channels.

So many production teams didn't have the habit of promoting dramas on variety shows before airing.

On one hand, they didn't value it enough—most teams didn't understand this aspect; on the other hand, they lacked the ability.

TV stations didn't let just anyone appear on their variety shows; many production teams had to outsource drama sales to distributors, let alone promotion—they couldn't even get invited.

Only highly anticipated dramas with buzz could get multiple appearances before airing—TV stations and show producers willingly invited them.

For example, "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and "My Fair Princess 3" were frequently invited to variety shows before and during their broadcasts.

Ordinary production teams usually just had the TV station cut a few trailers or air a few interviews with the main cast, then broadcast the drama.

But if a drama became wildly popular, some shows would proactively invite crew members to ride the wave of popularity.

"The Conquest" was like that—no one cared about it before, but after it became a hit, various shows came to interview the crew.

"Happy Heaven Seven Fairies" wasn't the most talked-about production in the industry, but it wasn't bad either; it had received plenty of media coverage and was mentioned in various rankings.

More importantly, Yan Li placed great emphasis on publicity and exposure; when negotiating contracts, he specifically fought with satellite channels for variety show promotion opportunities.

So the promotional burden for "Happy Heaven Seven Fairies" was still heavy.

Seven or eight major TV variety shows and interviews, more than half aired on national satellite channels, the rest on provincial networks targeting audiences within a single province.

Although promotion was tiring, most of the main creators of "Joyful Seven Fairies" cooperated fully.

It's no surprise they cooperated—most of them rarely get chances to appear on national satellite variety shows; this was a rare opportunity to shine.

But precisely because everyone cooperated so well, a new problem arose.

"Joyful Seven Fairies" had too many lead actors; group appearances were too large, attention was scattered, and scheduling was hard to coordinate.

Yan Li therefore decided to split them into small groups—either all-male, all-female, or several couples—four to eight people per group, assigned randomly according to availability.

This satisfied promotional needs while ensuring everyone got as much screen time as possible.

At the same time, he had a personal agenda: he wanted to save the big draw of the Seven Fairies for the Spring Festival Gala.

As a result, during promotion, the Seven Fairies were never fully assembled—usually only three or four appeared together, and at most, five.

The goal was scarcity.

If you casually gathered all seven Fairies and ran them through every variety show, what surprise or value would remain?

Later, when it became clear they might appear on the Spring Festival Gala, Yan Li made sure no more than three Fairies appeared at once—and never in their costume.

Some were dissatisfied with this, but upon hearing Yan Li was pushing hard to get them on the Spring Festival Gala, their complaints vanished instantly.

The Spring Festival Gala!

The best and highest stage for any evening show in China today, where countless popular stars and big names line up hoping to appear before the entire nation.

Even the hottest duo, Li Bing and Wang Ou, could not resist this temptation.

Or rather, for a popular young actress, appearing on the Spring Festival Gala was itself a bonus—it proved she was truly popular.

Among the Four Little Goddesses, Xiao Yanzi, Zhou Young Master, and Guoji Zhang had all appeared on the Spring Festival Gala during their peak, but the unconventional Xu Jinglei had never done so.

Though all seven Fairies were appearing together, it was still the Spring Festival Gala—Fan Xiaotian and Li Bing both showed tremendous enthusiasm, going out of their way to clear their schedules and cooperate.

Others didn't need to be told—Jiang Xin turned down a drama for this, and Li Lin even performed while pregnant.

That's right—this sister was pregnant.

Fortunately, her belly hadn't shown yet; otherwise, Yan Li had considered finding a stand-in.

Even so, because Li Lin was pregnant, several aerial wirework and flying dance sequences had to be abandoned; they switched to gentle singing and slow dancing, which perfectly suited the Fairies' elegant, ethereal aura…

————

PS: Only one update today; I'll make up two chapters of 10, 00 words each tomorrow and the day after.

(End of Chapter)