Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 575 Casting Change and Filming Wrap-up

Yang Ying noticed that producer Chen Guofu had been ignoring her lately.

He said he was busy when I sent him a WeChat message, and his staff answered when I called him.

She just wanted to ask when filming for "The Legend of the Fairy" would begin, as she had already reserved her schedule and was ready to join the crew at any time.

That day, Yang Ying's staff contacted Chen Guofu Kungfu Film Industry again, and once again, a staff member answered the phone.

"Hello, this is Yang Ying Studio. Producer Chen Guofu invited us to star in his new drama 'The Legend of the Demon Queen,' which is scheduled to start filming this month. We've already reserved our schedules. Could we check the start date?"

The staff member from Kungfu Pictures was also honest, saying directly: "Oh, 'The Legend of the Demon Cat' is confirmed to start filming in Shanghai on the 26th of this month. But Yang Ying is not on the cast list here."

Yang Ying's staff member laughed and said, "That's right, we received Mr. Guo Fu's invitation two months ago. We haven't signed a formal actor contract yet, so it's normal that she's not on the main cast list. We'll find a time to sign the contract."

The sound of paper documents being flipped through came from the other end of the line. The staff member who answered the phone was probably a newcomer. After a while, he said, "That's not right. All the actors on my list are here, and the announcements were sent out a couple of days ago."

"Hehe, please double-check if there's a problem somewhere, female lead Bai Xianchu."

"That's right. The female lead, Bai Xianchu, sent Yang Mi a notice yesterday. She will join the crew on the 26th. I contacted her personally."

Yang Ying's staff then realized something was wrong and, after hanging up the phone, didn't know how to explain it to their boss.

What do I mean? They replaced us; Yang Mi is playing Bai Xianchu now. If I told them this, Yang Ying would be furious.

But she couldn't keep quiet, as Yang Ying was waiting to join the production team.

Liu Yifei recommended the film to Shu Chang, but after talking with Kungfu Pictures, Shu Chang did not take on the role.

Shu Chang knew that her core business was in the TV drama industry. She could do well in low-budget movies, but she couldn't carry big productions. The production of "The Legend of the Demon" far exceeded all the movies she had starred in before.

She was worried she would mess things up. It wasn't cowardice, but rather caution; she had worked so hard for so many years to finally regain her popularity and didn't want to fail miserably again.

"The Legend of Chusen" aired on the last day of last month and was very well received. Although the biggest beneficiary of this drama may be the male lead, Li Yifeng, her continuous production of high-quality works has also ensured her top status in the drama industry.

Shu Chang is currently filming "Because of You". After finishing filming, she will immediately join the cast of Zheng Xiaolong's "Emergency Room Doctor". She is very content with the fact that two seasons will be broadcast and two seasons will be filmed this year.

She can act in serious dramas and idol dramas; she's now a hot commodity sought after by various platforms.

Why risk acting in a big-budget film that you're not sure you can handle?
Shu Chang was afraid of things going wrong, but Yang Mi wasn't. She was currently in a period of uncertainty, so there wasn't a single role she wouldn't dare to take.

Even if the schedule is already full, it doesn't matter, we can try to squeeze in more slots.

Yang Mi was originally a key actress that Chen Guofu was considering for the role of Bai Xianchu, and the two sides hit it off immediately.

Yang Ying had no choice but to accept that she had been replaced.

I was angry, but that's about it.

Her work focus, and even her own thoughts, are not on acting. For someone who works in variety shows, acting is just a means for her to maintain popularity and exposure.

She herself doesn't seem to particularly enjoy acting.

She's already had three dramas air this year, and "The Ferryman" will be released at the end of the year. That's enough for her.

Her mainstay is "Running Man," and as long as that show continues, she'll still have a role to play.

A short while later, Boss Dong sent her a text message, asking her to have dinner with him at a high-end club that evening.

To be fair, Boss Dong treated her quite well. In terms of resources, Yang Ying was already very popular, and some resources would come to her on their own initiative, so Boss Dong didn't need to take special care of her. Boss Dong's kindness to her was mainly reflected in material rewards.

For her birthday this year, Mr. Dong bought her a property in Los Angeles as their overseas love nest.

However, she never imagined that someone would try to sabotage "Running Man".

It was Autumn Pictures.

The original "Running Man" was introduced and produced by Zhejiang TV and Huayi Brothers. Zhejiang TV entrusted the task of selecting MCs to Wang Zhonglei, which is why Huayi Brothers artists were packaged into "Running Man".

Running Man was certainly a success; nepotism achieved excellent results.

However, after the second season, Zhejiang TV reclaimed the production rights, excluding the Korean and Huayi teams while retaining the MC lineup. This year, the fourth season concluded just as the THAAD incident erupted, and Zhejiang TV is considering revamping the program, aiming to completely remove Korean elements and even change its name.

Autumn Pictures has its sights set on next year's program, specifically the position of the star-studded female MC.

Such trivial matters were not even on Li Qiutang's desk, and Li Qiutang had no idea that the company was planning to promote "Running Man".

Autumn Pictures is a pretty good client; when you work with Autumn Pictures, they really deliver quality work.

Jaywalk Studio and Autumn Pictures made a bet, and even though Autumn Pictures was unwilling, they gave the movie "Love O2O" to Jaywalk Studio.

The film's performance is so-so, but it should have made money and given Dilraba, a newcomer, some exposure, so it's not a bad thing.

There are no artist management companies in the fall, so the female MC of "Running Man" will still be with Jaywalk Studio in the fall.

Jiaxing is full of women!
…………

On Tuesday of this week, filming for "Now I'll See You" finally wrapped up. Liu Yifei held the young actor who played her son on her lap and took a group photo.

Before leaving, she teased him, "Call me 'Mom' one last time, and I'll give you all my snacks." Liu Yifei hadn't finished the snacks she brought to the set after filming wrapped.

"You're not filming anymore, and you still want to be my mom?" The little guy wasn't having it, but he was also eyeing the bag full of snacks in Liu Yifei's assistant's hand behind her, his mouth watering.

The staff teased him, "Yihan, why don't you go home with Yifei's mom and be her son? That way, all her snacks will be yours."

Liu Yifei also said, "Is it okay? Come home with me. I have even more snacks at home, several cabinets full. You can eat whatever you want."

The child was only five and a half years old, and he actually believed it.

Do you have any chocolate at home?

"Have."

Do you have potato chips?

"Have."

Do you have ice cream?

“My family has all kinds of ice cream flavors.” Liu Yifei laughed more and more as she spoke, and continued to deceive, “Come home with me, and all these snacks are yours.”

"Then... then could you send these snacks to me? I want to eat them with my mom."

"Hahahaha!" Everyone burst into laughter. Liu Yifei affectionately picked him up again and pinched his cheek.

"You're really not easy to fool."

But in the end, Liu Yifei still gave him all the snacks.

At the wrap party that evening, Liu Yifei took an early morning flight back to Yanjing the next day, and her husband personally picked her up at the airport.

"Did you miss me?" The last time the two met was when Li Qiutang visited the set in Moganshan during the Shanghai International Film Festival. Two months have passed.

"I don't want to," Li Qiutang stubbornly replied.

"Don't want to? You can tell you're not telling the truth." Liu Yifei laughed, sniffing, "If I didn't want to, I would have taken a shower this morning to pick me up."

Only Liu Yifei's staff left in another car, otherwise she would have been too embarrassed to say that.

"I washed it last night, so the fragrance lasts a long time," Li Qiutang insisted stubbornly.

Is my mom home?

“Your mom knew you were coming back today, so she went out to buy groceries early this morning. We both left at the same time, and she’s probably already at home preparing dinner.”

"Let's go home." Liu Yifei kissed her husband on the cheek and urged him to drive away quickly.

(End of this chapter)