Chinese entertainment, from radio love songs to superstars

Chengdu, a hotel.

Shen Lang and his group had just returned from the cinema. With some after-school entertainment, Ning Hao and Huang Bo were chatting leisurely in his room.

He has been busy with touring and various award ceremonies during this period. He has not seen Ning Hao and Huang Bo since the annual meeting, so this is a good opportunity to find out about their recent situation.

After chatting for a while, Huang Bo said to Shen Lang with a somewhat nervous look: "Boss, I have something to tell you. A good friend of mine recommended me to Director Guan Hu. They are preparing a TV series called "Survival of Migrant Workers". This drama tells the life of migrant workers in Beijing. I think the subject of this drama is very down-to-earth, and the characters in it are also very attractive to me, so I am thinking about whether I can take on this drama."

His "good friend" is Gao Hu, who played Xu Zhu in Shen Lang's version of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils". It was Gao Hu who brought Shen Lang into the entertainment industry. Because of the relationship, Gao Hu asked for the job and given his personality, he agreed immediately.

But the situation now is different from before. He is no longer a free agent who can take on any role he wants. He has signed with Julang Film and Television. According to company regulations, all his acting appointments, commercial performances and other activities have to be arranged by the company.

So, before that, he went to find Ning Hao and Du Ting to inquire about the situation. After listening to him, Ning Hao and Du Ting felt that this matter should not be a big problem. However, they still suggested that he should tell Shen Lang.

Shen Lang gave the company's artists a high degree of freedom. As long as the film wasn't particularly bad, they could take it. After all, actors work hard to make money, which is human nature. So after listening to Huang Bo's request, he immediately said, "That's no problem. I'll let Sister Du handle it for you."

Huang Bo was delighted when he heard this. He felt relieved and thanked him: "Thank you, boss."

In the original time and space, his acting career did not make much progress in the past few years, and he only appeared in one or two film and television dramas. It was not until the release of the two movies "Crazy Racing" and "Bullfighting" in 2009 that his acting skills were recognized and he gradually received more acting offers.

Seeing that Huang Bo had smoothly settled his acting job, Ning Hao couldn't sit still anymore. After clearing his throat, he said to Shen Lang, "Brother Lang, I also have something I want to discuss with you."

Seeing this, Shen Lang still had that gentle smile on his face. He nodded slightly and asked, "What's the matter?"

Ning Hao scratched his head, a slightly tangled look on his face. He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "It's like this, Brother Lang, my two friends and I wrote a script, but..."

However, when he said this, he was stuck, not knowing how to accurately express his thoughts.

However, after Shen Lang heard what he said earlier, combined with his embarrassed look at the moment, he guessed roughly what was going on, so he took over the conversation and said, "But it's not a commercial film, and the story is very good. You want to shoot it, right?"

Ning Hao nodded vigorously and then told the story: "We want to show the life of the herdsmen on the Inner Mongolia grasslands, the tough old people, the busy parents, the wandering vendors, the innocent children..."

Bilige, a 7-year-old boy living on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, mistook a ping-pong ball he picked up for a night pearl due to his limited environment and lack of experience. When he and his friends Dawa and Erguotou learned that table tennis was the national sport, the three children naively wanted to send the ball to Yanjing. Later, Bilige went to school in the city, which opened his eyes.

After listening to this, Shen Lang knew that Ning Hao was talking about the movie "Green Grassland".

This is Ning Hao's second art film before his transformation, and the script was written by him and his wife Xing Aina.

However, the dull plot, slow pace and unique style made the box office and reputation of this movie mediocre.

Moreover, "Green Grassland" does not have any of Ning Hao's style, nor does it have the ingenious and exquisite multi-line narrative technique of "Crazy Stone", nor the counterattack of small characters full of reversals like "Crazy Racing", nor the smooth and comfortable rhythm control like "No Man's Land".

In the original time and space, the release of this movie was also full of difficulties.

From the investors withdrawing their capital before filming began, Ning Hao had to raise funds out of his own pocket, to the frequent changes in the crew, forcing the driver to serve as the production director, to the car transporting the actors overturning on the second day of filming, to the yurt catching fire when filming was about to be wrapped. The filming, which was originally scheduled to take only more than 20 days, took more than half a year to complete because of the perfect interweaving of drama and life, and life as drama.

However, it is gratifying that Ning Hao's sincerity and dedication have been recognized by the industry, and he was nominated for the Best Film Award at the 8th Shanghai International Film Festival Asian Newcomer Award and the Best Director Award at the 6th Spanish International Film Festival.

In fact, judging from the depth of the work, "Green Grassland" is the closest Ning Hao has ever been to being a "master", and it can also be seen as his swan letter bidding farewell to the creation of literary and artistic films.

As for his "favorite general's" dream, Shen Lang definitely supported it and said immediately: "There is no problem with your idea."

At this stage, Julang already has many profitable projects, and similar low-cost projects aimed at winning awards can also be appropriately launched.

The next day, Shen Lang left Chengdu early and headed for Los Angeles, the next stop of his tour.

At this time, five days had passed since the New York concert ended.

After their official release, Shen Lang's second English album "Voice of the World" and Taylor's first solo album "Taylor Swift" were unstoppable and swept the music charts in more than a dozen European and American countries.

"Voice of the World" sold 50 copies in the United States in just five days, directly topping the Billboard album chart. The two title songs "I'm Yours" and "Welcome to New York" respectively occupied the first and second places on the Billboard Hot singles chart.

"Taylor Swift's Hot Wave" sold 15 copies in the United States in five days, ranking second on the Billboard album chart. Its two title songs, "Shenlang" and "Love Story", ranked third and fourth on the Billboard Hot singles chart respectively.

Among them, the song "Love Story" cleverly combines William Shakespeare's classic "Romeo and Juliet", which greatly enhances the story and fully highlights the girl's delicate thoughts full of longing for love. Because of this, Taylor has gained more extensive international attention, even surpassing Shen Lang's two album title songs, and successfully topped the British and Australian music charts.

The New York Times: Shen Lang has set off a second wave of pop music storm!
"Entertainment Weekly": Only half a month after winning 7 Grammy trophies, Shen Lang has started his new Grammy journey!

"Life & Style Weekly": Teacher and student sweep the American music scene together!
"Rolling Stone": Two albums and four songs dominate the charts, the landscape of pop music has been rewritten!

"The Hollywood Reporter": It is reported that three Oscar-winning directors are interested in working with Shen Lang!
"Variety": Shen Lang's invasion is not only in the music scene, but also in variety shows. The auditions for "The Voice of America" ​​have started!

……

The mainstream entertainment media in the United States have all reported on this, and to sum it up - there is not a single person who can fight back.

Normally, singers will not be in a hurry to release new albums after the Grammy Awards ceremony. The reason is that the attention brought by the Grammy effect can give their old albums a second spring, and they can take this opportunity to sell another wave of old albums.

But there is an idiom called "strike while the iron is hot", Shen Lang prefers to use this attention to boost the sales of the new album. Facts have also proved that his approach is correct.

Although a new album has been released, it doesn't mean that no one is interested in the old album.

In fact, the release of a new album often triggers people's renewed attention to the singer's past works. On the one hand, the music style, theme, etc. in the new album may remind the audience of the singer's old albums, thereby stimulating their desire to review and buy the old albums; on the other hand, as the singer's popularity and influence increase, both new and old fans may become interested in his entire musical work system and explore his previous albums.

Beyonce, who had always been at odds with Shen Lang, was extremely upset after seeing his and Taylor's album selling well, so she stepped up the production of her new album in an attempt to regain her position in the music market.

However, Shen Lang has never regarded Beyonce as a real opponent, so he does not care about Beyonce's movements, but focuses on his own performance in Los Angeles. The guest this time is still Taylor, because her album is selling, she has three consecutive shows in the United States. More exposure can attract attention and sales.

Taylor also worked very hard in the performance. She didn't want to waste the hard-earned opportunity, nor did she want to let Shen Lang down.

At her last concert in New York, she was radiant. With her unique voice, outstanding stage performance and wonderful collaboration with Shen Lang, she won the love and admiration of many fans. Overnight, she rose rapidly like a dazzling new star and became the hottest new singer in the United States today.

Those record companies that had previously ignored her are now regretting having missed out on such a musical talent.

After the Los Angeles concert ended, Taylor asked with some reluctance, "Teacher, are you going back?"

"Yes, I'll take the flight tomorrow morning." Shen Lang has been busy lately. He has to attend to several endorsements and advertisements, so he has to go back. He then asked, "By the way, when will you go as an exchange student?"

Taylor replied, "You have to finish this semester here before you can leave."

She actually wanted to go to Yanjing earlier, but the time was set by the school and could neither be advanced nor postponed.

This made her feel a little helpless, but she had no choice but to abide by the school's arrangements.

Summer vacation in American schools usually starts in late May or early June. Only then can one embark on the journey to Yenching and start a new chapter of study and life.

"It's almost there, just over two months." Shen Lang calculated the time and said with a smile, "It's just right. When you come over, we will prepare your next album together and try to release it between September and October."

Taylor's eyes flickered, and he asked with excitement and a hint of doubt: "Teacher, do I have to release two albums a year?"

Shen Lang nodded affirmatively and said, "You are now in the early stages of your career. You need to continuously release works to consolidate your position and influence. Releasing two albums a year can keep your fans paying attention to you and allow more people to recognize your musical talent."

Taylor said seriously, "Okay, teacher. I will try to write more songs in the next few months."

Shen Lang was not worried about her creative ability at all, but he still reminded her: "Don't rush for success. In music creation, quality is far more important than quantity. An excellent song can touch people's hearts, resonate with the audience, and become a classic in music history. However, a large number of ordinary songs will only attract some attention in a certain period of time and will soon be forgotten. I hope you can calm down and create each song with your heart."

Taylor nodded heavily, keeping his words in mind, and said, "Teacher, I understand."

In the original time and space of 2024, no one is more influential and topical than Taylor. With her musical talent and business acumen, she has not only won the love of hundreds of millions of fans around the world, but also created the concept of "Taylor Swift Economics" through her attention to music copyright issues, innovation of business models, and promotion of artistic diversity, successfully refreshing people's understanding and cognition of the music industry.

At the moment, all Shen Lang has done is to advance Taylor's debut and fame time. It is by no means a "forcing growth" type of promotion. All the help is based on accurate judgment and reasonable planning of Taylor's potential.

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As soon as Shen Lang returned to Yanjing, the first thing he did was to check the box office data after the release of "Crazy Stone".

1177 million, a pretty "crazy" number in just one week of release.

This result is extremely outstanding. Not only did it become the weekly box office champion last week, it also surpassed "Baby in Love" starring Zhou Xun, Huang Jue, Chen Kun, etc., and "Magic Kitchen" starring Yan Chengxu, Sammi Cheng, Andy Lau, etc., and became the highest-grossing domestic film in the first half of the year.

Shen Lang clearly remembered that in the original time and space, this movie was released in 2006 and the total box office was more than 2300 million.

If calculated based on the current box office trend, the total box office will most likely exceed 4000 million, almost twice that of the original time and space. Although the cost of this filming has increased by more than 200 million, no matter how you calculate it, it is undoubtedly a huge profit.

Moreover, a rating of 8.9 is considered very high among comedy films.

Needless to say, the word of mouth is very good, just as the ratings show, nearly 90% of the audience who have seen the movie say it is good.

"What's very valuable is that they don't treat the audience as fools. This is how most domestic films should be made."

"It's not something that can be summed up as a simple imitation of Guy Ritchie or multi-line narrative. In particular, the characters in the film are not just there to structure the story and create laughs. Almost every character that appears is well-formed, has a distinct personality, is closely tied to the main plot, and has outstanding humor. The key is that it is close to life and reflects reality."

"If you shoot well, you can call it reference, imitation, tribute, etc., but if you shoot badly, you can only be called plagiarism. I dare not say whether it is the best domestic comedy, but it is definitely the best localized black comedy."

"The group portrait is humorous and exciting, and Trump is quite stylish. Ninghao is indeed not only good at making music videos!"

"The pace is super tight, one thing after another, Huang Bo is so funny, the scene where he climbs out of the manhole cover at the end made the whole theater burst into laughter."

"I bought a 15-yuan ticket at the Spark Cinema, and I can only say it was well worth the money. I laughed from beginning to end, and I laughed so hard that I had no strength left." (End of this chapter)