Abstract Art Award Winner

Chapter 225 Reunion with Zhao Liying

But this was Zhou Le's first house after all, and no matter how he looked at it, he was still somewhat dissatisfied. Either there was a problem with the house itself, or Zhou Le felt it was too expensive.

Because he had learned about some things related to decoration when he was looking at houses, Zhou Le knew that when he was still working, furniture costing tens of thousands of yuan was considered too extravagant.

But after seeing the luxury mansion, Zhou Le realized that there is no limit to how much decoration can be done.
A single mattress can cost millions.

The electrical wires inside the house are made of platinum or gold, and even a single tile in the house costs tens of thousands of yuan.

"Sigh, the more I look at myself, the poorer I feel."

Zhou Le kept sighing.

"Let's talk about it later."

Zhou Le felt that he couldn't do this kind of thing by himself. Although he had money, and it was his own money, he could spend it however he wanted and could act like a nouveau riche, only choosing the most expensive things.

But he still didn't want to spend so much money on these things.

"It's really baffling. They're clearly rich, so why do they still have a loser mentality?"

Feeling depressed, Zhou Le attended another conference about the arts and culture sector.

Zhou Le met more leaders here.

People have become more honest.

However, Zhou Le also made a speech as a representative of young actors during the event.

Given his own qualifications, the format of the functional report, and his personal style, what he said wasn't exactly standard, but it still impressed some experienced leaders.

The point of contention is to make people remember you, even if they might still ask who you are the next time they meet, at least they should be able to recognize you when they see your name somewhere and immediately recall what you look like.

After the meeting, Zhou Le went to have dinner with some leaders.

The next day, Zhou Le and Guo Fan flew directly to Shenzhen.

This is also the first award that "Ne Zha" will receive after its release.

The dumplings are very excited.

“I really didn’t expect that ‘Ne Zha’ would win an award. When I first started making it, I just thought that I would put in tens of millions of yuan and just break even. But I didn’t expect it to be so successful. Now it’s even going to win an award at a film festival.”

Zhou Le smiled and said, "Calm down. This kind of award isn't really a big prize. Trust me, this year's animation awards are just appetizers. Didn't I tell you to submit all the awards you could? Both domestic and international? Have you received any notifications about the awards you've been nominated for yet?"

"Yes, there's also the Golden Dragon Award, the Golden Bamboo Award, an award from Australia, and the Golden Crane Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival."

"Well, let's use this time to prepare properly, get the visas and other things done, and get everything done for the rest of the company. We can all go together, partly to attend the film festival, and partly to take the opportunity to have some team building activities and relax."

"Okay, I'll prepare for that when I get back."

Zhou Le nodded and continued, "In short, just get used to these awards this year. Although you've won some of them before, this time it's for a proper commercial film."

The real show is next year, when the Hundred Flowers Awards, Huading Awards, and Golden Rooster Awards are the ones you should really focus on preparing for.

Being popular only within a small circle doesn't mean you're truly great. Just like "Ne Zha," being popular as an animated film isn't enough; true fame comes only when it's a great movie.

As he spoke, Zhou Le patted Jiaozi on the shoulder, looking at the man who was much older than him: "Brother, the movie has already broken records. There are still many events waiting for you in the future. You will gradually get used to it, and winning awards will be as easy as eating and drinking for you."

Dumpling nodded emphatically: "Zhou Le, although you are younger than me, you have much more experience in this area than I do. But if I really succeed in the future, I will never forget you."

"Haha, of course, otherwise I would have really misjudged you."

"Don't worry, I will definitely not let you make a mistake in your judgment, but after the Jade Monkey Award, will you be busy with other work?"

"Yes, after I finish here, I have to go to Shanghai again. There's a Magnolia Award there. Although it's just a nomination and the chances of winning are slim, I still have to go."

I spent a few days in Shenzhen and attended the Jade Monkey Award ceremony.

I saw many familiar faces here, especially from the "Boonie Bears" group.

Actually, the one I admire most now is "Boonie Bears". Although it was once a major target of complaints, it still manages to release a feature film every year.

They don't compete or fight for anything, and they don't even do much advertising.

Even when people are ranking the box office, they may overlook it, but it consistently generates hundreds of millions of yuan in box office revenue every year.

Their main strategy is to make money quietly.

"Actually, making these kinds of children's animated films, especially after opening up this market segment, sells tickets very well. Those kids want to go see them every year, but they can't go by themselves, so each time at least two tickets are sold."

The director of "Boonie Bears" said with a smile.

"That's really impressive. For that generation of kids, besides watching some Japanese anime, all they watched was Boonie Bears and Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf."

"Yes, it's a bit of a pity to talk about Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf. We've talked about it before, and it's a bit difficult to go back to the old episodic format now. After all, some parents are quite opposed to the wolf-sheep rivalry, or the Bald Qiang-the-Forest animals forming a rivalry."

So now we're developing various related businesses, and instead of creating strong adversarial relationships, we're cooperating with each other.

Actually, when it comes to this point, Zhou Le still feels that the atmosphere in China is not very good.

There are many restrictions. He has watched "South Park" and "Family Guy," and he always says whatever he wants.

But ultimately it comes down to different national conditions.

However, these restrictions have indeed affected many creators.

"But Director Dumpling, we can collaborate sometime. After all, we both work in animation. Your company knows more about special effects, while we are better at animal animation. We can do more things together in the future."

The next day, Zhou Le went to Shanghai again. He usually arrived a day early to attend film festivals, but this time he had no choice. Although the Jade Monkey Award was not that important, it was still the first award for "Ne Zha", so he had to attend.

After arriving in Shanghai and checking into his hotel in the morning, Zhou Le handed over his room to Su Yingxia, who had arrived earlier, to help her tidy up. Then he went to meet up with the crew of "Like a Flowing River".

Because the Shanghai TV Magnolia Awards always start accepting submissions in December of the previous year, "Like a Flowing River," which was released last year, could only be shown this year.

"Zhou Le, we plan to film the second part of 'Like a Flowing River' at the end of the year, continuing until April, and then it will be broadcast after September next year. You will need to set aside a few months for it then."

Upon seeing Zhou Le, Kong Sheng greeted him and immediately began speaking. "No problem. I do have a film project on hand right now, but I'll definitely be able to find the time; it's just a matter of scheduling the filming."

“It’s alright. We’ll prioritize your filming next year. After all, you’re busy here. It’s better to finish filming your scenes all at once than to have you leave every now and then.”

Kong Sheng knew that Zhou Le was busy, and since Daylight Entertainment disbanded its artist management department, they had less control over the actors. Currently, only Jin Dong and Wang Kai continued to participate in Daylight Entertainment's projects by establishing a joint company.

Artists like Zhou Le, who weren't very famous at the time but rose to prominence in just a few years, still need to be appeased.

After all, Noon Sunshine had held an internal meeting before this.

The reason Zhou Le was cast in the first season of "Like a Flowing River" was because he seemed like a very capable newcomer at the time. However, casting newcomers is risky, so they only signed him for one season.

They discussed this issue in an internal meeting some time ago. After all, Zhou Le is no longer considered a member of Daylight Entertainment, and Wang Kai could also play the role.

But that coincided with the release of "Ne Zha".

The box office is rising day by day, and the higher the box office of "Ne Zha" is, the more topics there are about Zhou Le.

In addition, Zhou Le had just won five First-Class Project Awards recently, so they unanimously decided to continue casting Zhou Le in the sequel.

Within the industry, or rather among the audience of "Like a Flowing River," Wang Kai has a lot of popularity, but Zhou Le's popularity is all-encompassing.

In other words, they could actually replace the person now, but the impact of doing so would be enormous.

Or rather, they approached Zhou Le initially as a form of support, but now they are cooperating on an equal footing. Even if he doesn't appear in the second season of "Like a Flowing River," it won't affect Zhou Le. However, without Zhou Le in the sequel to "Like a Flowing River," there will be some pacing issues, and the ratings will definitely drop.

A show's ratings also determine its value; the higher the ratings, the higher the copyright fee will be when it is sold to other TV stations.

"I am grateful for Director Kong's understanding. However, after so many years in the industry, I am grateful that Daylight Entertainment was willing to give me a hand and gave me very good treatment. I will always remember this kindness."

Zhou Le truly remembered this kindness, and was even somewhat glad that he had chosen Noon Sunshine in the first place.

If Zhou Le had gone to H&R Century Pictures, Jaywalk Studio, or any other company, he would now be tied to that company.

Just look at Yang Zi, who is currently with H&R Century Pictures, and Dilraba Dilmurat, who is still stuck with Jaywalk Studio, and you'll understand.

Of course, Dilraba has made a name for herself now. I heard recently that she acquired a portion of Jaywalk Studio's shares. Anyway, it's a done deal that Yang Mi is leaving. At that time, she will be Jaywalk's top star, and all resources will be tilted towards her.

But if you want to get that kind of treatment, you'll definitely have to give something in return.

Then Kong Sheng started talking about the magnolias.

"Our film 'Like a Flowing River' is participating in this year's Magnolia Awards with the aim of winning an award. Your Best Actor nomination has already been submitted and we've received a nomination. The company has been doing its best to help you win, but it's still uncertain whether we'll actually win. After all, there are quite a few films participating this year, and the Best Actor nominees include Ni Dahong, He Bing, Chen Kun, and Zu Feng."

The competition is indeed quite fierce, but the Magnolia Award is competitive every year, and you are the youngest here. However, for us, we will try our best to help you win it.

"understand."

Zhou Le didn't have high hopes either. The Magnolia Award is highly prestigious, and he usually acts in movies, not many TV series. It's normal that he can't compare to those veteran actors who have been working in this field for many years.

"Anyway, since you're here this year, you're sure to win an award, either Best Actor or Overseas Promotion Ambassador. You definitely won't go back empty-handed."

"You just won five first prizes a few days ago; it wouldn't be right to go home empty-handed."

"clear."

After that, Zhou Le started chatting with the other people.

There's a red carpet event in the afternoon, followed by a meet-and-greet with guests.

Here, Zhou Le finally saw Zhao Liying again after a long time.

"Sis, you look like you've lost weight again after all this time."

Zhou Le went up to say hello.

"Really? I haven't been feeling very well lately since giving birth, but I'm still happy that you say that."

"Sis, what kind of person do you take me for? We've played husband and wife before, after all. Do you think I would lie to you? Besides, I'm not the kind of person who likes flattery. I swear that everything I've said comes from the bottom of my heart."

"Haha, still the same as before, glib and smooth-talking."

Zhao Liying looked at Zhou Le with some regret. When they were filming "Riding the Waves" together, Zhao Liying thought Zhou Le was pretty good.

Because at that time she was already preparing to get married, but later she thought better of it.

"It's been years, and I feel like you haven't changed much, except that you've become more mature. Ever since the Weibo Movie Night, I've seen you trending on social media all the time. You really should change your personality."

"Sister is right, I'll change it slowly later. But how old is your child?"

"He's almost a year old, and I'm teaching him to say 'Mama.' What? Want to be my son's godfather?"

"No, no, I'm not suitable, am I?"

Zhao Liying wasn't sure if Zhou Le was implying something, but she still nodded: "It's not very good, but I was still very happy to film with you. I hope we can continue to work together in the future."

"That's what I think too. Being able to act with Sister Zhao is a real treat."

After they finished speaking, the scene of filming a kissing scene in "Duckweed" appeared in their minds at the same time.

"Okay, sis, I'll go take another look over there. You go ahead and do your work."

After chatting for a while, Zhou Le took the initiative to say that he had to leave.

"Okay, go ahead, we can get together again another time."

Watching Zhou Le's retreating figure, Zhao Liying sighed.

Having been in the industry for so many years, I've seen many handsome men, but very few male artists like Zhou Le.

It's just a pity that Zhou Le is too good, and she can't bear to let him get involved in this kind of thing.

I wish we could have gotten to know each other sooner.

(End of this chapter)