Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 401 The Outburst Begins!
Huang Xiaoming and Qin Lan reunited in "The Invisible Guest," playing a pair of adulterers who both cheat on their partners.

How will the public view this?
This issue was already being discussed when casting began and filming started, and now that the film is about to be released, it's being brought up again.

The production team anticipated this, but couldn't control it.

It's not that we lack the ability to control it, it's that we can't control it.

The two had a well-known relationship in the past, and now they are playing lovers again. It's one thing if the publicity doesn't bring it up, but how can they control what netizens say?

To be fair, Huang Xiaoming and Qin Lan do have professional ethics as actors. Knowing they would be hyped up like this, they remained silent and let themselves be the subject of discussion.

To be honest, bringing up their relationship again after so many years is good for the production team's publicity. "The Invisible Guest" is the beneficiary, so the production team is even less concerned about this kind of news.

However, public opinion can easily get out of control, or, to put it more conspiratorially, be manipulated by certain individuals.

When Huang Xiaoming and Qin Lan represented the crew of "The Invisible Guest" at the Qingdao Summer Domestic Film Promotion Conference, public opinion regarding their relationship began to shift.

"Huang Xiaoming and Qin Lan have gotten back together. The two were photographed together in Qingdao, seemingly meeting Xiaoming's parents."

"Qin Lan knew she was a mistress and acted as one after breaking up with Lu Chuan. She wanted to get back together with Huang Xiaoming and didn't care about Yang Ying at all."

"Qin Lan has played many mistresses, and this time she really immersed herself in the role."

Unfortunately, director Li Qiutang didn't attend the meeting, nor did Xi Meijuan, the actual female lead of "The Invisible Guest." This time, neither of them could explain themselves clearly.

How can companies manage this kind of public opinion?
To be honest, the two did attract a lot of attention at the promotional event. The special promotional event for "The Invisible Guest" was the largest one ever, with the main speaker being Xu Lin, the vice president in charge of distribution at Autumn Pictures, and the two actors co-presenting.

During the meeting, some bosses even joked, "Why don't you two get back together?" They said this directly in front of the two of them.

Some female CEOs even urged Qin Lan to take the initiative: "I don't think much of Yang Ying. How can she compare to you? When you two were together, I thought you two were the most perfect match."

The two parties involved naturally didn't take these words to heart; they were both there to work.

But after the trip to Qingdao, a big rumor spread in the industry: "Yang Ying is serious and is having a falling out with Huang Xiaoming!"

It's unclear who leaked this news, but it seems highly credible because Huang Xiaoming's condition was clearly off during the promotional event the following day. Although he still interacted with fans with a smile, it was obvious that he was putting on a brave face.

Meanwhile, as the release date of "The Invisible Guest" drew closer, the production team clearly sensed that someone was smearing Qin Lan, and that this smear campaign was organized and premeditated.

When the movie is released, instead of attacking the male and female leads, or the director who is the most important figure, attack the second female lead?
It's too obvious.

However, Qin Lan doesn't have much negative press. At her peak, she was only a second-tier celebrity, so there's very little information to dig up about her.

If you say that she was willing to pay a huge penalty to terminate her contract with the company and travel thousands of miles away to take care of the injured Huang Xiaoming, is that criticizing her or praising her?
She said she couldn't bear to see "Nanjing! Nanjing!" fail and used all her savings to support Lu Chuan—Lu Chuan admitted this before, but later denied it—at most you can say she had poor judgment and misjudged the person, you can't say she was disloyal.

Saying that she was heavily criticized by the audience for playing Zhihua is actually a compliment to her acting skills.

Saying she's played a lot of mistresses? She has to have choices. Does playing a mistress make her a real mistress?
At a press conference, Qin Lan specifically addressed the issue of playing mistresses: "I don't know why so many production teams ask me to play mistresses. Most of the audience remembers me for the mistresses I've played. Actually, I have a pretty wide range of roles."

Does having a few scandals mean you can't be criticized?
Even if it doesn't exist, I can make it up for you. The "diva" trope is useful on any celebrity.

"Qin Lan once filmed a kissing scene. The male actor did nothing wrong and was very well-behaved, but after filming, she felt that he had taken advantage of her, so she slapped him on the spot. The male actor was a newcomer and didn't dare to say anything."

How can Qin Lan explain this?

As if things weren't going to go wrong, Lu Chuan, who was still preparing for "Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe," gave a brief interview to reporters at the domestic premiere of "Transformers 4." After praising "Transformers 4," he briefly looked ahead to the summer box office competition, specifically mentioning Qin Lan.

He again denied that "Nanjing! Nanjing!" received financial support from Qin Lan: "It was raised by me and our producer through hard work, how could we ask the actors for money?"

"Some actors' acting skills are not good enough, making filming very difficult. I broke down several times on set." He didn't name names, but everyone knew he was talking about Qin Lan.

"Playing the same type of role too many times might affect your real life. The person in the media and the person in real life are two completely different people."

Qin Lan found it difficult to explain her diva-like behavior, but she felt no qualms about confronting Lu Chuan.

In a later interview, Qin Lan responded: "In this industry, you can meet many good people, but you can also see all the dark sides of human nature."

"There are too many ungrateful, two-faced, bullying-the-weak-and-cowardly people."

The reporter was not satisfied with her indirect response and asked her directly, "Have you gotten over the shadow of your previous relationship?"

Qin Lan was also generous, saying frankly, "People always grow through stumbles and falls, which is normal. At least I've seen a lot of things clearly. For example, some people are not trustworthy, and they don't even deserve sympathy or help."

In the early days of the internet, this is how celebrities argued: the celebrities themselves would get involved! What's the point of watching fans fight?

If Qin Lan's response added fuel to the fire, then Li Qiutang's fate was like adding fuel to the fire!

The production team of "The Invisible Guest" will not allow their second female lead to be unfairly criticized, thereby affecting the film's reputation.

Not to mention that Qin Lan is also Li Qiutang's friend.

In an interview with Weibo, Li Qiutang said of Qin Lan: "Sister Lan is a very good and excellent actress. It is not difficult for her to be so beautiful. Those who say that she is difficult to film must not have practiced enough."

Regarding the online discussions about her, Li Qiutang said, "We've known each other for almost 10 years, and I know very well what kind of person she is. Just take those things online with a grain of salt and don't take them seriously."

Of course, he had to criticize Lu Chuan: "Instead of arguing in the media, you should think about how to make a good film. If you lose money again, I'm afraid no one will invest."

As is well known, Li Qiutang is the director in the film industry who has no shortage of investment.

"He cries every time he appears in a movie. He's a director, but he acts more than the actors. He's like a drama queen."

Li Qiutang said that Lu Chuan was too dramatic, and that his dramatic flair hit him where it hurt.

Moreover, netizens are particularly receptive to the novel term "drama queen," feeling that it is highly generalized and also quite abstract!
Suddenly, netizens started using the "drama queen" meme. Lu Chuan was furious; his box office numbers weren't as good as his, and he couldn't even out-insult him!
(End of this chapter)