Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 958 New Film Project (23)

"Who told you that?"

"Ji Xiang... he told me a lot of things..."

Ji Xiang often chatted with Shen Yan about trivial matters within the entertainment industry…

The so-called "dual contracts" will outwardly offer you a reward of 500 million to 2000 million, but in reality, they will later make up the difference of 5000 million!
How should these funds be accounted for?

Some go through overseas companies, some through cultural and creative funds, and some simply shoot a "public service short film" with the remuneration coming from charity funds.

Unspoken rules... are commonplace!
There will be a general director in the crew, as well as many assistant directors. Some are responsible for makeup and costume, some for set design, some for directing, and some for casting. They are the most influential people in the crew in a broad sense.

Their targets for unspoken rules are usually female celebrities who have some background, but not a strong one.

This group typically includes third-tier actresses, newly debuted actresses, and so on.

Their fate is in the hands of directors at various levels. If they have the support of the directors, they can be guaranteed the number of shots and roles in the production, and at least they won't be taken away by other actors halfway through the production.

Why would directors at each level help you?
You either give me your body or you give me money!
At this stage, it has basically evolved to the point where money is involved...

You think you can rise to power just by sleeping with someone?
Times have changed!

They also buy trending topics.

Behind every trending topic lies a whole "ranking system".

There are KPIs for when to push, how long to push, and how much money to spend.

I heard there's a company that specializes in this business; they charge by the hour for a single trending topic spot, and some can cost millions.

What's even more amazing is that they can also "hedge" – your idol is being attacked? No problem, we'll immediately buy ten positive topics to suppress it.

This is called public opinion management, but frankly, it's just spending money to buy public opinion.

Girl groups are all the rage lately…

Ji Xiang once mentioned that he knew a junior in the industry who was in a girl group and secured many projects by promoting girls!

Fa Niu…

She's actually a brothel madam!

Some companies will create a customized persona for newcomers—this persona is not simply about being a top student, a foodie, or low-key, but rather a true reshaping of one's destiny!

From birth charts and zodiac signs to clothing styles, everything is calculated. Some people even hire feng shui masters to change the names and fortunes of celebrities.

After hearing what Shen Yan said, Shi Shi was a little stunned: "No, is our industry really that ugly?"

Shen Yan chuckled: "...You're lucky. You signed with Tangren Media right after your debut, and were groomed to be their top star, quickly becoming a popular actress...then transitioned into a producer, and things have been going very smoothly..."

"What about you?"

"I was lucky too... My first movie grossed over 100 million yuan, and Ji Xiang always helped me out!"

What did he help you carry?

"Sister, my first film grossed over 100 million yuan, and my first time as a producer grossed over 500 million yuan... Do you know how many people want to work with me?"

“Cooperation…you can refuse!” “I used the word ‘cooperation,’ but you can interpret it as coercion…or setting a trap!” He paused, then gave an example: “You have a meal and drinks, and someone sends beautiful women to your room, all of them young women in their twenties…and then they call the police…your reputation is ruined!”

No wonder you rarely attend drinking parties…

"I'm scared too!"

……

After returning home, Shen Yan started a live stream…

"Don't overhype it. I checked Douban, and Parasite has a 9.2 rating... That's obviously exaggerated. I think it's somewhere between 8.6 and 8.8... The movie is pretty good, but it's still quite a ways from being a classic..."

"Even though they live in the same country and city, the rich and the poor may never have the chance to meet... There's a saying online: Poverty limits our imagination, you can't imagine the lives of the rich... Wang Sicong's dog lives better than most people!"

"I wrote this script inspired by my own experiences..."

"Like *Burning*, it also touches upon the universal social contradiction of 'class stratification.' The difference lies in that *Burning* is more subtle, with a more artistic narrative pace; while *Parasite* is more direct, with a more commercial plot pace..."

"Parasite has a typical three-act structure, and the story itself is very dramatic... It will be released in mainland China in late October... Everyone can check it out then!"

Many netizens asked him to share his feelings about winning the award.

"Winning the award...I'm quite happy, after all, it's the Palme d'Or!"

“I talked to Kate about why she won the award, and she said that the viewing experience of Parasite was the best!”

"Who is Kate? Cate Blanchett... She's the chair of this year's jury... I've worked with her before; I invested in 'Carol'."

"Imagine the Cannes Film Festival jury watching at least four films a day, many of which are very dull, or even unwatchable arthouse films. Then they see 'Parasite,' a standard genre film, and experience a cinematic thrill they haven't felt in the previous days. Compared to that, they'll naturally develop a liking for it..."

"I always thought Hirokazu Kore-eda would win the award... He's a Cannes stalwart, nominated for the Cannes main competition five times, and for Un Certain Regard twice. In 2004, 'Nobody Knows' helped 14-year-old Yuya Yagira become the youngest Cannes Best Actor, and in 2013, 'Like Father, Like Son' won the Jury Prize..."

"Shoplifters is Hirokazu Kore-eda's return to family-themed films. Last year, he was nominated for the main competition at the Venice Film Festival with his transformative work, The Third Murder... which was met with a barrage of criticism from critics!"

"Shoplifters received a 3.2 rating in the festival's program, second only to Parasite..."

"I never expected to win the Jury Prize... Next time it should be the Palme d'Or!"

"And there's *Capernaum* and *Happy as Lazzaro*... I haven't paid much attention to the other films..."

"I won't comment on 'Ash Is Purest White'!"

Regarding Jia Zhangke's films, here's a one-sentence review: When I was younger, I thought I'd understand Jia Zhangke's films when I got older, but unexpectedly, the older I get, the more I find his work pretentious…

"Children of the Jianghu" - The bygone days of Brother Long from Kunshan in the Jianghu!
This movie was pretty boring...

"I'm going to Hainan soon to scout locations... to prepare for the filming of my new movie, called 'Zaijiutang.' Zaijiutang is the school that Su Dongpo founded when he was exiled to Danzhou, Hainan!"

"I'm preparing to shoot a landscape painting film, telling the story of Su Dongpo's exile to Hainan in a solid and down-to-earth way... I'm fed up with domestic art films. They just shake the camera and think they're so cool and artistic... I recently watched a few highly-praised art films that used the shaky camera style that Chinese directors are used to, and then a bunch of people thought it was graceful and charming... Damn it, the lighting, composition, the proportion of the characters in the frame, the control and grasp of the scene... it was a complete mess!"

"I just want to make a black-and-white landscape film to show these people what true sophistication is!"

"We've already cast Wang Jinsong as Su Dongpo... For me now, directing movies is more of a hobby. I'm interested in the great Confucian scholar's engagement with the world, so I decided to make the film!"

(End of this chapter)