Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 272 How do the four top figures in mainland China choose sides?

Several women were subtly involved, and Yan Li also triggered one or two intelligence reports, but he didn't pay any attention to them.

Let them come if they want!
Although these people around him had some influence over him in related matters, and even had the power to recommend and arrange things to a certain extent, their actions still couldn't bypass Yan Li no matter what.

The so-called recommendations and arrangements were all out of respect for Yan Li. The important positions and promotions were only possible with Yan Li's approval.

Especially Dong Xuan and Qin Lan, their so-called manpower and connections within Yi An's faction are essentially his people.

Fan Xiaopang has a wider reputation, influence, and network, and he does have his own connections, but most of his key connections still rely on Yan Li; otherwise, the effect and impact would be greatly reduced.

In this situation, no matter how much the meat swells, it's still considered that the meat is rotting in the pot in a certain sense, and the power to divide the meat from the pot still lies in Yan Li's hands.

So Yan Li didn't bother with it. If Qin Lan and Dong Xuan could really bring down the company and even the people he favored, Yan Li would actually think more highly of them.

This shows that these two have become quite capable, or that the people they support have high value, which is also a good thing for Yan Li.

In short, no matter who wins, Yan Li is definitely going to win!
In mid-April, Huang Xiaoming officially joined Huayi Brothers, and the two Wangs of Huayi Brothers held a grand signing ceremony for him.

Judging from the cost of the ceremony, the lineup of guests, and the publicity efforts, Huayi Brothers attaches great importance to Huang Xiaoming, even more so than Zhou Xun, Ruby Lin, Alec Su, and others who joined Huayi Brothers before. There were even press releases about him being Huayi Brothers' top star before the signing ceremony even started.

Of course, this is only one part of Huayi Brothers' ideas.

As mentioned earlier, Huayi Brothers' artist management is divided into several groups, each with its own leading artists.

For example, Li Bingbing and Li Xue are in one group, Zhou Gongzi is in another group, Lin Xinru and Su Youpeng are in a group that advances and retreats together, and there is also the new group after Huang Xiaoming joined.

It is well known that in large companies, departmental interests often outweigh company interests in internal competition.

Although Huayi Brothers favors Huang Xiaoming and implicitly makes him their top star, it doesn't mean that other artists' management teams don't have other ideas.

Su Youpeng, who prides himself on his fame and popularity, believes he is qualified to compete for the title of Huayi Brothers' top male star.

Ren Quan, who stayed with Huayi Brothers along with Li Bingbing, is currently keen on doing business, but he is quite famous and has a long career, so he is not without a chance to be selected.

Other male artists under Huayi Brothers are also ambitious, and some teams are currently in contact with popular male artists from outside the company.

Huayi Brothers had previously tried to poach Deng Chao, but he was snatched away by Yi An, so they naturally started considering other candidates.

It is said that Lu Yi has a close relationship with Huayi Brothers.

Although Lu Yi's career has hit a plateau in the past two years, and his popularity has been somewhat affected by his relationship and marriage, he is still among the top young actors. With the help of Huayi Brothers, he might be able to break through this plateau.

Another one who has been talked about a lot is Du Chun. Although she is not very famous, several of her dramas have been broadcast quite well, and she can be considered to be making a name for herself.

Popular young actors are highly sought after by various companies and are not easy to poach; promising talents are also key targets.

Currently, Huang Xiaoming, with his strong growth momentum and the support of Huayi Brothers, has a significant advantage, but he also faces some internal challenges.

Especially Lu Yi; if Huayi manages to win him over, it might spark a battle for Huayi's top star position.

Huayi Brothers is absolutely capable of doing this.

After all, they've already put Li Bingbing and Zhou Xun in a battle for the top spot, and now they also have Ruby Lin and are planning to sign popular actresses including Liu Yifei.

Female celebrities can participate, and male celebrities can too; both bring benefits and exposure.

To reiterate, the two Wangs at Huayi Brothers are focused on the IPO and the stock; internal strife is not currently a priority.

However, to Huayi Brothers' surprise, the internal discussion about who was the top male star in Huayi Brothers had just begun when Yi An started to create hype about a competition between Yi An and the top male star of Huayi Brothers.

Just four days later, Deng Chao officially joined Yi'an, and the signing ceremony was even more lavish than Huang Xiaoming's.

Yan Li rarely makes such outrageous remarks, believing that Deng Chao has the potential to become a representative of mainland male actors.

At the same time, it was officially announced that Deng Chao will play the lead role in Yi An's next Gu Long drama, "Xiao Shiyi Lang".

There was much discussion about which of these two dramas, "Meteor, Butterfly, Sword" or "Xiao Shiyi Lang," was better. In the end, "Xiao Shiyi Lang" won slightly due to its higher popularity.

In addition, this was Deng Chao's own choice; he personally preferred Xiao Shiyi Lang.

However, although Deng Chao became famous for period dramas, he had mainly played young emperors before. If he wants to portray Xiao Shiyilang's chivalry and wildness, he will have to put in a lot more effort.

Gu Long's dramas are one of Yi An's most famous brands. In order not to ruin the brand, Yan Li even considered suspending filming after the martial arts craze subsided.

Of course, there are other reasons as well, but this also shows that Yi An attached great importance to Gu Long's works.

If Deng Chao messes up the Gu Long adaptation and causes the project to fail, his position as the company's top executive will be in jeopardy.
Everyone could see how much Yi An valued Deng Chao, but no one explicitly called him the number one.

Just like Huayi Brothers has never said that Huang Xiaoming is Huayi's number one star, the company has to consider other people's opinions, especially since both of them are newcomers.

However, the company denies this, and has issued numerous press releases.

Some are issued by the company, some are created by the artist's team, and some are stirred up by the media who love to watch the drama unfold.

Thanks to these press releases, more and more people are linking Deng Chao and Huang Xiaoming together. Huang Xiaoming was even asked by reporters about his impressions of Deng Chao at an event.

Anyone with eyes can see that this is Yi An trying to extort money; it's the same old marketing tactic she used back in the day.

While Huayi Brothers was still hesitating about whether to accept the challenge, Orange Sky, or more precisely, Wong Jinghua, had already begun to take action.

She created a top star in the entertainment industry, Tong Dawei, and also got involved.

Whether Tong Dawei is considered Orange Sky's top male star is hard to say. At least Orange Sky has Chen Daoming, Hu Jun, and Xia Yu, none of whom Tong Dawei can easily surpass.

There's also Jay Chou, who isn't under Wong Jing's management, but is also a very popular young actor.

However, Tong Dawei has many advantages of his own.

First of all, he is a popular young actor with higher commercial value than actors like Chen Daoming. Moreover, he is a protégé of Wong Jinghua and is valued by Orange Sky Entertainment. He was given the opportunity to star in "Red Cliff" and also has several other dramas in the works, including "Struggle".

More importantly, he and Yan Li had a good personal relationship.

Hype isn't something you can just do on a whim.

Anyone can stage an accident to extort money, and many people want to do the same to Huang Xiaoming, but only Deng Chao has the real influence.

why?
Of course, Yi An is the right choice. She knows how to generate buzz, is willing to invest heavily, and has enough channels to boost exposure.

Huang Xiaoming's team usually ignores staged accidents, but Yi An even managed to get Huang Xiaoming's team to consider taking action.

Because Huang Xiaoming is essentially getting financial support from others who stage accidents for him, Deng Chao has Yi An's backing. Although Deng Chao is currently in a better position, Huang Xiaoming also gains some exposure, which will give him a long-term competitive advantage and allow him to generate stable buzz.

With examples of two artists working together, which artist wouldn't be envious of the numerous benefits brought by this combination of competition and partnership?

Similarly, if Deng Chao and Huang Xiaoming can create hype on their own, why should a third person be involved?
But Tong Dawei is different. He is considered half one of Yan Li's own people, and can sometimes be used by Yan Li, so it's not unreasonable to bring him along.

With three people involved and three companies, the momentum can be even greater. Tong and Deng Chao can sometimes even join forces.

For this reason, Wang Jinghua persuaded and suppressed dissent within Orange Sky and strongly promoted Tong Dawei to the top.

Wang Jinghua was clearly not the only clever one; Chang Jihong of Hairun also quickly pushed Liu Huohua, one of her subordinates, forward.

Liu Huohua is widely recognized as the top male figure at Hairun, although his presence as the top male figure is not as prominent as that of the top female figure, Sun Liqiang.

However, he is quite popular, with hit dramas like "Blood Romance" as a representative work. Furthermore, he is arguably the leading actor among mainland Chinese actors in terms of film accolades. He's won the Golden Horse Award for Best Actor and the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor; he only needs a Hong Kong Film Award to achieve a triple crown of Golden Horse, Golden Rooster, and Golden Horse Awards.

Among young actors, only Xia Yu surpasses him in this honor, as the latter has won both the Golden Rooster and Golden Horse Awards, and also the Venice Film Festival Best Actor Award.

However, Xia Yu's award was so highly regarded by Jiang Wen that many people felt it was less prestigious than Liu Huohua's.

In addition, Liu Huohua has starred in many blockbusters in the past two years. Although his performance has been controversial, it has brought him a lot of exposure. Perhaps his popularity is not as high, but his overall performance is extremely strong.

Furthermore, Chang Jihong is a mainland agent comparable to Wong Jinghua, and is backed by the powerful Hairun Group.

She was determined to promote Liu Huohua, and even if Yi An, Orange Sky, and Huayi ignored her, she was able to quickly make some progress.

After all, everyone is used to the Four Heavenly Kings, the Four Little Actresses, and the Four Little Actors. Three people just feel a bit strange, while four people feel more stable.

Huang Xiaoming, Deng Chao, Tong Dawei, Liu Huohua
After creating a stir to stage an accident, the four people subtly formed a gang similar to the "Four Dan and Two Soldiers" troupe.

However, due to the short time frame and issues with performance, it has not yet established a unique advantage.

Some media outlets have referred to the four as the true "Four Little Fresh Meat" (a term for popular young male celebrities), while others have called them the "Four Top Male Stars" (a term for top male stars).

The success and popularity of these four individuals, as well as their confidence in competing for the title of "Number One Leading Man in Mainland China," largely stem from the four companies behind them: Huayi Brothers, Yi'an Film & Television, Orange Sky Entertainment, and Hairun Media, which are also the four giants of the film and television industry.

For this reason, other young men who wanted to stage an accident were stopped from entering.

For example, Hu Ge, the top male singer of Tangren Media; Chen Kun, the top male singer of Rongxinda Media; Nie Yuan, the top male singer of Ciwen Media; as well as Lu Yi, Yin Xiaotian, etc.

Although these individuals were doing well individually, they were forced out of the company due to its insufficient strength.

Zhou Jie, Ren Quan, Qiao Zhenyu, Xia Yu, and others were also eliminated because their own companies had representatives acting on their behalf.

Of course, this is just a saying. The top four are not fixed, the number one is not fixed, and this group has not formed a precipitous lead. Everyone still has a chance to rise to the top.

At least some of the more established or rapidly rising young actors, such as Lu Yi, Zhou Jie, Hu Ge, and Chen Kun, are not convinced or willing to be overshadowed by those four.

...

The hype surrounding the "Four Big Brothers" benefits all four actors, but Liu Huohua and Deng Chao benefit the most.

Especially Deng Chao. Although Liu Huohua has low popularity, he has received many honors and exposure. He is the least famous of the four.

Many of his previous public appearances were largely due to rumors of his relationship with his girlfriend, Sun Li.

During his time with Yi An, his fame and media exposure have increased by several orders of magnitude.

Deng Chao is increasingly understanding why so many artists flock to big companies, and why so many artists are willing to pay any price for a powerful patron.

Having a mentor to guide you is incredibly important, as is having a large company to support and assist you.

At the same time, Deng Chao is increasingly grateful for his initial choice.

Even more fortunately, the benefactor he met didn't covet him or his wife; he only had one request of him: to make money for the company.

Deng Chao liked this requirement because it meant the company would earn more money, and he would earn more money as well.

Because filming for "The Difficult Love of a Diamond Bachelor" hasn't wrapped up yet, Deng Chao spends most of his time on set.

Sun Li's film crew finished shooting and she had some free time to return to Beijing. She then discussed with Deng Chao whether she should try to get closer to her boss.

Yan Li was indeed very good to Deng Chao. Even from the perspective of company interests, Deng Chao could not keep the relationship only from the company's point of view. If he had a good personal relationship with the boss, there would be more opportunities and benefits in the future.

Isn't Tong Dawei a perfect example?!

However, Deng Chao didn't have time, and Sun Li couldn't invite Yan Li on her own, nor could the latter attend the banquet alone.

After all, Boss Yan's reputation is what it is, and Sun Li is his subordinate's girlfriend. Words can be deadly, so Yan Li has to avoid suspicion and be careful about the impact.

So Sun Li meant that she invited Yan Li and his girlfriend, whoever she was, to be present, so there was nothing to hide.

However, Deng Chao stopped Sun Li from having this idea.

Although he had only been with Yi'an for a short time, they had already exchanged glances quite a few times before, and there were also people from Yi'an in the new team, so he had some understanding of some things about the company.

This guest wasn't invited for nothing; if things aren't handled properly, people might think the couple is trying to take sides.

Sun Li didn't take it to heart. Deng Chao knew what he was talking about, so he naturally wouldn't hide it from her. She had also considered the shady dealings and taboos involved.

But Sun Li had her own thoughts: "I think it's hard to avoid taking sides. It's one thing for others, but you're aiming for the top spot. If you don't take sides, how can you hold onto the top position?"

Since we'll have to stand up sooner or later, we might as well do it sooner, which will also show our sincerity and loyalty.

Deng Chao pondered for a moment, then thought his girlfriend made sense: "Then whose side should we stand on?"

"Of course, the one with greater power is the better one."

Sun Li said matter-of-factly. Deng Chao knew she was referring to Fan Xiaopang and smiled, "Indeed, I have no choice but to side with her, otherwise my life will be difficult."

Fan Xiaopang considers Yi'an his own territory. Deng Chao wants to be the top dog, but ends up getting involved with other people. She's capable enough to just watch and not do anything about it.

Even with Yan Li in charge, Deng Chao was still hesitant to gamble.

"Moreover, she has few people, so if the two of us can exchange information with her, it will be a great help to her."

Sun Li then mentioned another advantage: since it's about taking sides, it's about providing help in times of need rather than adding to someone's already good fortune.

Fan Xiaopang's situation is far from being in a favorable position; on the contrary, he is in the most advantageous position, making it not the best option in terms of strength.

However, Dong Xuan and Qin Lan had too many people around them. The latter had the Teddy Sisters group, and the former also had a group of people. Tong Dawei was considered her assistant.

Therefore, her and Deng Chao's alliance with Dong Qin is not cost-effective. On the other hand, Fan Xiaopang, although he has no shortage of help, has few people he can trust.

If we can make connections, it's much better than getting bogged down in the competition around Chairman Qin.

Although Fan Xiaopang is arrogant and not very willing to form cliques, she cannot ignore Deng Chao, who is the company's future top leader. Just like Wang Ou, even if she dislikes him, she still reaches a tacit understanding with him in order to control the company.

"You don't need to worry about this. I'll talk to her. That way, we can both have some leeway and it won't upset President Yan."

While it's said that Deng Chao is siding with Fan Zhongyan, the actual operation can't be done by Deng Chao; Sun Li's approach of using her position as First Lady is the best strategy.

Sun Li also had her own motives. By getting involved with Fan Xiaopang, she would have more say in Yan Li's affairs, have a greater influence on Deng Chao, and the young couple would be more united.

Deng Chao's career was not as good as hers before, and he was considered honest.

Now that he's joined Yi'an, his momentum is strong, and Sun Li needs to plan ahead to prevent him from getting too cocky and causing trouble.

Deng Chao hadn't thought of that; he only felt that his girlfriend was virtuous, not only giving him advice but also paving the way for his social connections.

Success in both career and love life, how wonderful!

　(82000)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)