I didn't want to be an actor

Chapter 105: Really Daring (12)

"I'm not investing in movies... I'm investing in my own movies. If I hadn't participated in The Wandering Earth, I wouldn't have invested in this project at all... My father is in the cinema chain management business. After I started making money, he warned me, 'Don't invest in movies. Nine out of ten projects fail!'"

Yang Di asked back: "Then why did you still invest in The Wandering Earth?"

Shen Liang explained: "I am the lead actor and deeply involved in the entire process. I know this team is reliable... and domestic hard science fiction is either groundbreaking and creates a new genre, or it disappears quietly like Youzu's "The Three-Body Problem"... Anyway, I think "The Wandering Earth" will become a banner for domestic science fiction films!"

"So confident?"

"If I didn't have confidence, I wouldn't continue to make additional investments..."

Wang Han interrupted: "Besides movies, do you have other investments?"

Shen Liang thought about it, then shook his head: "...No, I'm not a professional investor..."

"You can learn from Xue Zhiqian and open a hot pot restaurant, or open a trendy brand store like many celebrities!"

Shen Liang shook his head: "I don't know much about hot pot and fashion, so I'd better not mislead my fans..."

Yang Di dug a hole: "Do you mean that celebrities make trendy brands just for their fans?"

Shen Liang asked directly: "Will anyone else buy it?"

“…How dare you say that!”

"That's what I am, just cutting leeks..."

Xue Zhiqian quickly said: "I'm not like that. When I was making clothes and running a hot pot restaurant, I wasn't famous yet..."

"You are a real talent... unlike those traffic stars!"

“… a talented actor with terrible acting skills?”

“Everyone has something they are not good at…”

"What about you? How do you think of your acting skills?"

“I’ll leave this to the audience to judge…”

Wu Mengda interjected: "He has good acting skills, and he is very smart and good at studying..."

Shen Liang quickly said: "Thank you Uncle Da for the compliment!"

……

They talked about investment for about ten minutes, and then Jin Xin talked about an embarrassing moment, using the example of himself attending a dance party.

"I was the host of a European Royal Ball one year. The theme of the ball was related to China, so many well-known Chinese stars were invited, including Ms. Zhang Ziyi. Before the ball started, the staff said to Zhang Ziyi: "After the ball starts, our prince may ask you to dance with him."

Zhang Ziyi was very polite and replied, "Sure."

But her agent refused directly and said sternly: "No! We are here to participate in the event, and dancing is not written in the contract."

I was very embarrassed at the time, because since I was attending the ball, I had to dance, and the first dance was very meaningful. It was the prince's invitation! It was a courtesy, representing respect and love.

If that's the case, it's fine, but the key point is that her agent later said, "You can dance, but you have to pay more."

Then, Zhang Ziyi probably felt that something was wrong and wanted to say something, but her manager interrupted her immediately: "Shut up, you have no right to speak!"

I was right next to it... I was so embarrassed that I wanted to find a hole in the ground to crawl into. It was such an awkward scene. It's something I will never forget..."

Shen Liang continued: "This is a case of being cheated by the agent... The original female lead of Wolf Warrior 2 was also cheated by her agent... How could a normal human being do such a thing as raising the price of a temporary actor?

Anyone with a sound mind knows how important connections are in the entertainment industry. There is no way an unknown 18th-tier actress would turn down the opportunity to play the leading role in a movie just for a few dollars!
I guess the team behind her is doing this to get a cut of the profits…” “Her agent?”

"Definitely..." Shen Liang continued, "What impressed me most was actually Li Min and Zun Long's agent... Many people know that Li Min was unemployed after graduation. In fact, he was very famous in New York at that time. His graduation work "Dividing Line" won the New York University Wasserman Award for Best Director and Best Picture! Such a person must have the opportunity to shoot works, but unfortunately, he signed with William Morris Agency after graduation... Without knowing it, the agency turned down many good opportunities and became an unemployed househusband..."

"Huh? Why did you turn down the opportunity?"

"Agents make money mainly by taking commissions. They count every job they do. They don't bother to do things that bring fame but no money. They have a lot of people under their control anyway, so whoever they support doesn't matter. Then, in order to maintain his own interests, this agent directly drew a line and would not take jobs below a certain amount of money... By the time Li Amin found out something was wrong, he was already an unemployed middle-aged man. Fortunately, he returned to Taiwan, made three great movies, and became a big director!"

"Where's Zunlong?"

"When Spielberg asked him to play the leading role in Memoirs of a Geisha, director Rob Marshall went to him personally and told him that he didn't need to audition and could just take the role.

At the same time, James Ivory, who was nominated for an Oscar three times, said he would make a movie tailor-made for him, called "The Countess."

Guess which one he chose?

His agent turned down both roles and went to film "Qianlong and the Fragrant Concubine"... Oh, and Mr. Xue was hidden after he became popular... Sometimes I don't understand the train of thought of these agents..."

Xue Zhiqian continued: "Some people are indeed blind!"

The reason why Xue Zhiqian was hidden is very simple - the music company he signed with changed its top management, and the new boss looked down on the singers who debuted on "My Style My Show", so Xue Zhiqian was hidden...

The key point is that at that time, Xue Zhiqian had already become popular with "Serious Snow"...

Useless!

Yang Di asked, "How is your agent?"

"Very good... whatever resources I want, she will help me get them within her ability..."

Wang Han interrupted: "We are talking about embarrassment. Has Shen Liang encountered any embarrassing things?"

"… embarrassing things?" Shen Liang shook his head: "Very rarely, I'm usually very tactful..."

"Let me tell you one," Yang Di continued, and told about the time he met Zhang Jingchu on the plane...

Jin Xin took over and made a big move: "In fact, many actors' acting skills are quite embarrassing nowadays. For example, Yang Tianbao's acting is really bad!"

Shen Liang glanced at Yang Di, and they both shook their heads. Yang Di sighed, "Sister Jin is still awesome. I wouldn't dare say such things anyway!"

"Why don't you dare to say it? Are you afraid of her fans?"

"Not entirely," Shen Liang continued, "We usually don't discuss other actors' acting skills directly in public. This has a bad influence... We can talk about it in private. If we talk about it on the show, it will affect our audience..."

Jin Xin said in a serious tone: "...If you can't act, then you can't act..."

At this point, Jin Xin glanced at Yang Di and said, "I think your master is also quite embarrassed..."

master?

"Who?"

"Thank you!"

Thank you then?

The scene was boiling...

Yang Di was about to say something, but Jin Xin took it back: "Then there is a characteristic of the host. Either she makes the place very hot, or she makes the place awkward... two extremes, she needs a helper to help..."

(End of this chapter)