The battle for traffic in Chinese entertainment

Chapter 537 Collaborators and Ballast

“Yesterday, Sister Rong suddenly asked me if I and Cai Jini really had some kind of abnormal relationship, and asked me to be honest.”

Sun Man's smile was strange.

Xu Xingda was speechless.

"Huh? No!"

After its release, "Stay" became a global hit. Tomorrow, the Billboard charts will reveal that Hsu Hsing will once again have a number one single, bringing Tsai Chin-ni's popularity to its peak.

Hsu Hsing occasionally surfs the internet and has indeed seen a lot of gossip about his relationship with Tsai Chin-ni, such as how he favored her during the talent show and how she has been supporting him behind the scenes.

But they were mostly just joking around, and I didn't expect Yu Murong to become suspicious.

However, it might be because Xu Xing hasn't come back to Shenzhen to have dinner with her in the last few days?

"You've been holed up in Hong Kong lately, and there's been so much gossip going around. It's normal for her to worry that you might get tired of women and suddenly become interested in men after hearing it."

Sun Man laughed.

Although netizens didn't believe it and thought it was just Hong Kong paparazzi making up stories to smear Xu Xing, most of those rumors were actually true.

Zhang Junning was left in Hong Kong by Xu Xing, and Fan Bingbing secretly entered Hong Kong and hid in Xu Xing's villa. A member of a Korean girl group flew in for a secret rendezvous, and mainland actresses filed in one after another—actually, there weren't that many. Hong Kong actresses lined up to wait for Xu Xing to choose one of them—but only Wen Yongshan was chosen. An actress from Taiwan came to Hong Kong ostensibly to see Zhang Junning, but actually to sleep with Xu Xing—this was only part of the story.

For example, Jia Jingwen, who was once rejected by Xu Xing, and Yang Jinhua, who actively pursued her.

Zhang Junning's woman was also unexpected by Sun Man, but it's also possible that Fan Bingbing was behind it all.

In short, Sun Man felt that the previous conflict between Xu Xing and Yu Murong had not been resolved, and now Xu Xing's pathological mentality had worsened.

However, Xu Xing did not ignore her younger sisters like Zhao Jinmai and Hu Lianxin.

"...What's normal about it?"

Xu Xing felt it was outrageous.

Seeing Xu Xing's depressed expression, Sun Man laughed even more happily.

But after laughing for a while, he stopped.

Xu Xing suddenly fell silent, looking at her as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

For Sun Man, it wasn't difficult to understand.

Xu Xing probably wanted to say that Sun Man knew he had been fooling around with other women, yet she could tease him so casually and laugh so happily. But he also knew that saying such things would be rather pointless.

Sun Man was all too familiar with Xu Xing's occasional affectation.

However, Sun Manzhen felt fine; she had long since stopped being naive.

Moreover, Xu Xing did not only fool around with women in Hong Kong.

Xu Xing had just finished filming "The Battle at Lake Changjin" and completed her album. Immediately after the album was released, she went to the United States and joined the cast of "The Tuner." This period was originally supposed to be Xu Xing's vacation.

Xu Xing didn't really get any rest either.

Scriptwriting for the second season of "Childhood Games" and the second season of the web series "Detective Chinatown," script revisions for "Dark," online script discussion for the film "Detective Chinatown 4," script reading for "The Tuner," script breakdown for "Dark Glory," promotional launch for "Snowy Days," project preparation for the second season of "Joy of Life," album promotion plans, art design, and MV planning discussions...

Interviews, cover shoots, and advertising shoots—these never stopped.

Xu Xing is like a precision machine that runs day and night, never complaining about the pressure and workload.

Perhaps influenced by Xu Xing, as long as she didn't indulge in sentimental musings late at night, Sun Man felt that it was quite normal for Xu Xing to seek relaxation with women.

“Okay, this isn’t normal. I’ve already told Sister Rong that you are one million percent only interested in women. However, you can’t stay in Hong Kong any longer. Director Wong wants you to do reshoots again.”

Sun Man then got to the main topic.

"……All right."

Xu Xing had no objections, so they decided to reshoot the scene.

Judging from the previous reshoot experience, it wasn't too much of a hassle.

"Yes, I've spoken with Director Wang, and he's agreed to keep in sync with our publicity and distribution schedule."

Sun Man was referring to the possibility that "Blossoms" might be shown at the Venice Film Festival.

When they were in the United States, Bajaaria had mentioned this suggestion to Hsu Hsing. Although Hsu Hsing thought it was almost impossible at the time, she still actively made the suggestion to Cheng Rong as well.

After Netflix fell out with Cannes, it was warmly embraced by the Venice Film Festival. Bajaria then had the idea to act as an intermediary and bring Wang Yibo's film "Blossoms," a collaboration between director Wang Yibo and Xu Xing, one of the most popular actresses in the world, to Venice.

That would greatly enhance the influence of the Venice Film Festival, and Hsu Hsing's Best Actor win would strengthen Netflix's relationship with Venice and Hsu Hsing.

Triple win.

Director Wang is indeed a Cannes protégé, but he was discovered by former director Jacob. Under the current director Frémaux, Director Wang's treatment at Cannes is merely guaranteed entry into the competition.

Director Wang's previous feature film, "The Grandmaster," did not go to Cannes; instead, he went to the Berlin Film Festival that year to serve as the jury president.

Given Wang's current status and output, he really doesn't need to go to Cannes alone. Venice and Berlin would welcome him with open arms. Even if he doesn't go to Cannes this time, Cannes will actively try to recruit him for his next film.

Therefore, Xu Xing's team is seriously considering sending "Blossoms" to the Venice Film Festival, hoping to give Xu Xing a chance to win the Best Actor award.

From the perspective of accumulating experience, the three major European film stars are on the same level.

Director Wang has now stated that he is willing to take "Blossoms" to Venice.

Of course, we'll have to wait until "Blossoms" is finished.

When he was communicating with Director Wang, he learned that Xu Xing was now free and there was still some time before she would rejoin the crew, so he suggested that they do some additional filming.

It's like playing two rounds with or without dates.

Having finished recounting this matter, Sun Man will now move on to the next one.

Did Son Ye-jin tell you?

"what?"

Xu Xing was very surprised.

“I just received a collaboration offer from her agency. They want Son Ye-jin to star in the music video for your album’s first single. Didn’t she tell you?”

Sun Man asked.

Xu Xing shook his head.

“I don’t even have her contact information, so I definitely didn’t talk to her. Erika is holding her up with a Hollywood project, and she’s a little tempted, so she asked her company to see if they could get it through me. But no matter what, I would never invite her to star in a music video.”

Since the ban on Korean entertainment, no mainland Chinese singers have invited Korean stars to appear in their music videos, but there have been Chinese people who have appeared in Korean singers' music videos.

Just like how domestic celebrities can go to South Korea to attend award ceremonies, but mainland galas will never invite South Koreans.

Given Xu Xing's status, it's even less likely she would do such a thing. Xu Xing has never even posted photos with Korean stars on social media; they're the ones who post them, and Xu Xing just likes them.

Following "Childhood Games," Netflix wants to enter mainland China, and South Korea is also encouraging the lifting of the ban on Korean entertainment. They are actively cooperating with the film and television industry in Hong Kong and Taiwan and trying to find a breakthrough to enter the mainland market.

Son Ye-jin's company's initiative to reach out to her likely reflects this intention.

"I knew it was impossible, but is that really the case? Recently, there have been articles on the internet in mainland China and overseas saying that you admire each other. I know it's her company doing marketing. I originally thought it was just a simple attempt to ride the wave of popularity. I didn't realize she was so opportunistic."

Sun Man complained. Almost every celebrity who attended the same event as Xu Xing and got a photo with her would try to get close to her and brag about her, especially Han Han's idols.

As long as it doesn't affect Xu Xing, the team doesn't need to worry about her subtly trying to gain attention or elevate her status.

At the previous Netflix Asia Festival, Son Ye-jin posted a photo with Heo Hsing on Instagram. Although she only posted that one photo, the two of them were very polite to each other and kept a good distance.

Xu Xing also liked the post at the time.

However, almost all the celebrities who attended that day posted photos with Xu Xing, and Xu Xing liked many of them. Son Ye-jin's photo was nothing special.

result……

Son Ye-jin is also one of the artists that Sun Man has a good impression of.

Sun Man knew that two months ago, Son Ye-jin from Singapore and Xu Xing had met at Erika's dinner party. Xu Xing said that Erika used Hollywood projects to lure her in, and it must have started from that time.

But Son Ye-jin still came to Hong Kong and posted a photo with Heo Hsing.

If Son Ye-jin hasn't officially announced their relationship yet, Sun Man feels okay... or should we say she's rather cautious? She hasn't even given Xu Xing her contact information, and right now she's just having her company explore the possibility of a collaboration.

Sun Man thought about it and felt that she should be gratified.

At least Son Ye-jin still has some integrity.
But... she's blatantly trying to freeload off Xu Xing's online traffic!
Essentially, isn't it just Erika using Hollywood projects to entice her, and her using herself to entice Hsu Hsing?

As the head of Xu Xing's team, Sun Man now hates this kind of behavior the most!
Moreover, this cooperation intention was presented against the backdrop of the ban on Korean entertainment...

Music videos are a very ambiguous field.

Music videos released in the country need to be registered, but international versions of music videos do not.

Previously, Hsu Hsing had released two different music videos when she released "shape of you".

...Is Son Ye-jin using her beauty to seduce South Korea?

"When I chatted with her, we did exchange a few compliments. On the bright side, she was just looking for opportunities to collaborate."

Xu Xing helped Son Ye-jin speak.

After all, it was Xu Xingxian's regret that they couldn't cooperate.

"...You want to cooperate with her?"

Sun Man raised questions.

"Of course I won't cooperate. You can just refuse them directly. Or are you trying to test whether I'm hooking up with Son Ye-jin? You can ask directly. No. If we were hooking up, I would tell you."

Xu Xing smiled.

“No,” Sun Man denied. “You had already agreed to let RIIZE release their duet version of ‘Stay,’ so I thought you might want to collaborate with her, and that’s why I came to persuade you.”

Yes, the boy group audition program hosted by Im Yoona and broadcast on Netflix, a collaboration between SM Entertainment and CJ Entertainment's M-net, has ended.

The group's name is still RIIZE, which is the name of a boy group that SM Entertainment will launch in two years. It's probably because their executives have an internal fondness for this name.

Hsu Hsing agreed to let RIIZE release a version of "stay," mainly to show her support for their development, since Hsu Hsing also has shares in their label.

Because that's essentially a licensed cover song, it doesn't have any special characteristics.

The official version is just the one that Hsu Hsing and Tsai Chin-ni collaborated on, and they won't be included when calculating the Billboard chart's top-ranked list tomorrow.

A couple of days ago, SM Entertainment hyped up Heo Yeong & RIIZE's "Stay" in China, and some fans were so excited that they mocked Heo Yeong for being a traitor.

But as soon as the trending topic was bought, iGee angrily flooded the public square, making a stern statement that the only official version of "stay" is by Hsu Hsing & Tsai Chin-ni!
By the time the stars had slowly passed by, the matter had been resolved without causing any major disturbance.

I can't care what they brag about overseas, but don't come to mainland China and act like a jerk.

It's normal for Sun Man to be worried.

"Childhood Games" did indeed earn Xu Xing a lot of praise, but Netflix's big marketing still left some aftereffects, and the South Korean entertainment industry was also flirting with the Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment industry.

In recent years, more and more mainland netizens have come to dislike Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the South Korean entertainment industry.

As a result, with the continuous efforts of Xu Xing and the deliberate support of certain capital, many domestic netizens really feel that Xu Xing, who has become too close to Netflix and South Korea, is now acting as a guide for foreign capital.

The minor controversy surrounding "Stay" is a reflection of this current situation.

Despite the poor reputation of "Detective Chinatown 3," it still managed to achieve a global box office of 56 billion yuan through online comment control and marketing, which alienated some people.

The film "Silent Kill," which was released at the beginning of the month, has already grossed over 15 billion yuan at the box office. However, there are also many people who believe that this film is a fraud. The credits thanking Xu Xing were placed at the beginning of the film, and the film's marketing campaign emphasized that Xu Xing invested in and was optimistic about it, which has caused another wave of people to dislike Xu Xing.

Therefore, Xu Xing is still so popular that no one can see the exhaust fumes, but she cannot let her guard down in the public opinion arena.

Xu Xing could relax, but Sun Man could not.

Fortunately, the upcoming film "Sheep Without a Shepherd 2: Karma," which received unanimous praise from theaters and film critics after internal screenings, will help Xu Xing regain her reputation.

It's hard to say what will happen after "The Snow Sword" is released. Although it was made with great care, fans of the original novel are too picky, and outside expectations are too high. As the promotion started, many voices on the Internet also complained that the original novel's values ​​were not right.

However, Xu Xing also has a film with a firm stance, "The Battle at Lake Changjin." Many fans felt that it would be detrimental to Xu Xing's development in the United States and privately criticized her for not taking on the role.

Some overseas media outlets have already used the film "The Battle at Lake Changjin" to criticize Xu Xing.

But this film is Xu Xing's ballast.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Before leaving Hong Kong, where she had spent more than half a month, Xu Xing returned to Shenzhen and had a farewell dinner with Yu Murong.

The atmosphere was much more harmonious than when she first arrived, although she always seemed to want to say something but then stopped herself.

Xu Xing took the initiative to explain that there was really nothing between her and Cai Jini. She couldn't help but laugh and said that she was just joking. Unexpectedly, Sun Man told Xu Xing about it.

This also made Sun Man take the blame.

When I woke up the next day, the latest Billboard charts had already been released, and "Stay" had suddenly appeared at the top of the list.

Cai Jini was so excited that she posted a long essay on WeChat, thanking Xu Xing with tears streaming down her face.

During this period, Tsai Jini has been doing a lot of promotions in the United States. Next week, he will also attend the BBMA. Although he basically got to attend by associating with Hsu Hsing, these are all resources that greatly benefit him, but he still worked hard to get there.

Therefore, Xu Xing encouraged him to keep going.

Then, after rewarding Zhang Junning for his rapid progress in recent days, his focus on improving his personal qualities and catering to Xu Xing's preferences, Xu Xing untied him before heading to the airport.

On the flight back to Haishi, Xu Xing received a WeChat message from Lin Yoona.

[Son Ye-jin visited the set today and asked for your WeChat. Should I give it to her?]

Im Yoon-ah is currently filming "Confidential Assignment 2" starring Hyun Bin.

Yesterday, Sun Man politely declined the cooperation offer from Son Ye-jin's company. If she were to speak to Xu Xing herself, Xu Xing would also refuse.

Add me on WeChat.

The first message Son Ye-jin sent was—

How embarrassing. [Facepalm]

(End of this chapter)