Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 236 Red Carpet Fan Ye
Next it was Zhang Chen and Fan Xiaopang's turn. Sister Jiuyi took Zhang Chen's arm and began to enjoy the spotlight.

"Fan Binbin, I love you..."

"Fan Binbin, look over here..."

The fans are crazy and generally young.

Only young people who are rich and have free time can be crazy about chasing stars. When they get older and their minds mature, they will slowly lose this happiness.

Along the way, Fan Xiaopang kept waving to the fans and occasionally stopped to sign autographs. It was obvious that she enjoyed this highlight moment very much.

"You should be familiar with this scene, right?" Zhang Chen asked with a smile.

"Why do you say that?"

"Aren't you a member of the Huanzhu group? Huanzhu was so popular back then. I remember you even organized a fan meeting in Asia..."

This was the news Zhang Chen had read that year. "Return of the Condor Heroes" was very popular throughout Southeast Asia, and the streets were deserted whenever it arrived in a country.

Later, "Chinese Restaurant" was filmed in Thailand, and Zhao Yanzi was a guest. When she went to buy ingredients, she was still recognized by the local bosses and given discounts.

At that time, it had been 20 years since "Return of the Condor Heroes" was broadcast, and the actors were still able to reap the benefits, which shows how popular the drama was back then.

"That's different~" Fan Jiuyi shook his head: "In "Return of the Condor Heroes", I was just a minor supporting role. People were basically paying attention to Ziwei and Xiaoyanzi. But "The Shallows" is a glory that belongs to me alone..."

Sister Jiuyi has a clear understanding of this aspect.

"Return of the Condor Heroes" can at most be regarded as turning her from an unknown figure into a well-known figure, but she is still far from becoming a big star.

Even though she has starred in so many movies and TV series, she is still a long way from becoming a star.

Until The Shallows...

The two of them didn't walk fast, interacting with fans and the media along the way. Fat Fan was born to be a news saint, and he was the focus of the spotlight wherever he went.

The two stopped at the autograph area, signed autographs, and then appeared for photos. This marked the end of most of the red carpet walk, and they then came to the interview area to be interviewed by reporters.

They were all old questions. He first asked about the specific situation of "Taken". He was very excited to learn that it had been completed, but Zhang Chen did not reveal too much.

Seeing this, the media began to pay attention to this film festival.

"Director Zhang, this is your first time to be nominated for a domestic film festival, are you confident that you can win a trophy?"

"Of course I have. I am quite confident about my popularity among college students. I am still a college student myself..."

Zhang Chen didn't say those official words, such as it depends on the audience's support and the judges' evaluation. He just told the media that I can win the award.
The media that interviewed us were very excited. They are indeed friends of the media. They are eager to give us performance rewards.

Great guy~
"As far as I know, the favorites for the Most Popular Director Award for College Students this time are you and Director Feng Xiaogang. Do you think you can beat Director Feng and win the award?"

There are also people who do not mind the trouble and want to press further.

Zhang Chen smiled: "Then I don't know. Director Feng is also a very good director. His films are very popular among young people. Of course, I hope that I will win the award in the end, but Director Feng should not be underestimated..."

"Director Lu Chuan's "Kekexili" received multiple nominations this time. What do you want to say about this?"

Reporters are all very good at stirring up trouble. When they saw that Feng Xiaogang's case failed, they immediately turned their attention to Lu Chuan.

Someone else added fuel to the fire: "When Kekexili won the grand prize at the Tokyo Film Festival, Lu Chuan said that his film won the award based on its strength, not women's thighs. This is obviously a reference to The Shallows. Doesn't Director Zhang have anything to respond to this?"

Facing the reporter's provocation, Zhang Chen was not moved at all. He looked at Fan Binbin and smiled faintly, "I won't comment on Lu Chuan. Today is the film festival. We should not steal her limelight."

Zhang Chen did not let them get their wish, he really thought as he said.

Even though he was unhappy with Lu Chuan, today was the award ceremony of the big film festival and he couldn't steal her limelight.

This is a big taboo in the circle.

Those who try to steal the limelight, such as female celebrities deliberately falling down or exposing themselves at certain award ceremonies, may seem to have gained traffic at the time, but they will definitely be banned by the organizers afterwards.

And this is a circle, everyone knows each other.

If one company bans you, other companies will have to consider the cost-effectiveness of inviting you when they hold events. Over time, you may become a failure.

Not getting the answer they wanted from Zhang Chen, the reporter went to find Fan Xiaopang.

"Hello Fan Binbin, the success of The Shallows has made you a top actress. Now you are competing for the Most Popular Actress Award. How do you feel now?"

"I'm very excited. I didn't expect that The Shallows would receive so much support. I want to thank Director Zhang for choosing me. I also want to thank the fans for their support. Thank you very much!"

"Li Binbin is also a popular candidate for the Most Popular Actress Award for College Students. Do you have the confidence to beat her?"

"That depends on the audience's choice." Fan Binbin has seen a lot of such slander and answered it with ease.

A staff member nearby indicated that the time was almost up and new stars were coming in, so Zhang Chen and the other person left.

After entering the venue, there were special staff members leading the way. The seats were arranged in advance, and usually people from the same crew were together. Because Zhang Chen had just met Feng Xiaogang and his crew, he just greeted them and went to his seat after entering the venue.

What surprised him was that the person sitting next to him was Feng Gong.

"Teacher Feng Gong..."

"Director Zhang Chen, nice to meet you..."

Feng Gong is an actor that Zhang Chen likes very much. He is one of the two pillars of the Spring Festival Gala, one of them is him, the other is Zhao Benshan.

Every year during the Spring Festival Gala, Zhang Chen only looks forward to the performances of these two people. As for the others, if there are any good ones, it would just be a surprise.

Although he has a prominent family background - his great-grandfather was the Beiyang warlord Feng Guozhang, who is mentioned in textbooks - Feng Gong is not bad in artistic achievements either.

Traditional crosstalk has always had a supporting role and a funny role.

Feng Gong and Niu Qun made an innovation. In their crosstalk, there was no obvious supporting role and funny role. The two of them had similar levels of importance and both played two roles at the same time, being both the supporting role and the funny role.

If County Magistrate Niu had not later become an official, Feng Gong's achievements in crosstalk would not be worse than Guo Degang's, and might even be better. After all, he is orthodox and his teacher is Ma Ji.

Zhang Chen remembered that Feng Gong seemed to have reaped a lot at this film festival. Not only did "A Quick Trip" win the Best Comedy Film Award, but he also won the Most Popular Actor Award among College Students.

"Director Zhang..."

After just a few words, someone came over to say hello. It was Huang Xiaoming.

The filming of The Return of the Condor Heroes, in which he collaborated with Liu Tianxian, was just wrapped not long ago. Huang Xiaoming still has short hair, and it's obvious that he just finished filming a costume drama.

"I saw you on the red carpet just now, but I didn't have time to say hello..."

Master Huang showed his signature smile again and shook hands with Zhang Chen.

When it comes to dealing with people, Huang Xiaoming has no problem at all, otherwise he wouldn't be so popular in the circle.

Then Huang Xiaoming seemed to have started the conversation. People came to greet him one after another, including Xia Yu, Liu Tianxian, Fan Wei...

A film festival is a social venue. The reason why big stars love to come here is not only because of the exposure, but also because they can meet many industry leaders whom they don’t usually meet.

Although Fan Binbin's seat was right next to his, she had already left. Like everyone else, she was out trying to build relationships.

Zhang Chen secretly observed that the situation on Feng Xiaogang's side was similar.

Directors are top resources in this circle, not to mention people like Zhang Chen and Feng Xiaogang who are both directors and investors, which makes them even more scarce. Every actor wants to leave a good impression, in case they are remembered one day, maybe it will be an opportunity.

Fan Binbin shuttled among the crowd, greeting acquaintances from time to time. Occasionally, when he met someone he didn't know well, he would say hello to get to know them and leave his phone number. Wouldn't they be acquaintances when they met next time?

It’s not for nothing that Chinese people say she’s good at scheming.

Otherwise, even though they have retired behind the scenes for so many years, they can still provide resources for Fan Chengcheng. Isn't it just relying on the connections they have accumulated on weekdays?
But speaking of which, is Fan Chengcheng really her brother?
Fan Binbin is now like a fish in water. The success of "The Shallows" has earned him a lot of popularity, and he has successfully established his own studio. Both personally and professionally, he is deeply bound to Zhang Chen.

And with a professional like Mu Xiaoguang taking care of things, things around me seem to be going much more smoothly.

The public image is also changing visibly.

When she was in Huayi before, she was really criticized to a charcoal level, but Huayi never cared or asked anything.

Now, under the guidance of Mu Xiaoguang, he is systematically changing his public image, and has achieved some initial results.

Today’s award ceremony is the best proof of this.

Although some of those fans are arranged by the company, there are also many real fans.

In addition, Mu Xiaoguang also made big investments in peripheral businesses.

He is lobbying PepsiCo to include Fan Binbin as a candidate for spokesperson for the Greater China region.

After Pepsi entered the Asian market, in order to quickly expand sales, it focused on celebrities.

They invited big names: Leslie Cheung, King Liu, King Guo, Wang Fei, Zhou Jielun, the popular F4 in Asia, and last year they also invited Jolin Tsai who can sing and dance...

Their big-brand strategy later gave rise to a phenomenon: it is not that all their spokespeople are big-brands, but that being their spokesperson means you are a big-brand.

Look, this is the influence of big companies~
If you can endorse Pepsi, then you must be a superstar, a star among stars.

This has been regarded as an honor and is highly sought after by celebrities.

Mu Xiaoguang is indeed a talented person, and he has a clear plan for the development of Fan Xiaopang.

First, get the Pepsi spokesperson. With Pepsi's recognition, your status will be secure, and you will have a ticket to enter the eyes of luxury goods companies.

(End of this chapter)