Abstract Art Award Winner

"Qi Ling, your idea is good; it is indeed feasible to some extent."

If short dramas can be successfully produced, they can indeed be compared with those child actors, although the general hierarchy of contempt is that actors who make short dramas look down on those who make TV series or movies.

But sometimes, if you look at it from a different perspective, it feels like actors are like live-streaming salespeople, traditional actors are like offline salespeople, and skilled actors and veteran performers are like experienced sales directors and top salespeople.

However, it's not accurate to say that selling goods through online live streaming is necessarily better than offline sales. Everyone is using every means to sell, and each has their strengths. Of course, it's undeniable that selling online is indeed easier and reaches a wider customer base.

Being a good short drama actor can lead to roles in traditional TV series and movies; it's just a matter of whether those industries will accept it, since the entertainment industry is more exclusive than the business world.

"Sure, you can contact them first to see if anyone is interested in doing this. Don't just push out the actors from the short dramas. You can also find some internet celebrities who make short videos online, or some unknown actors. You can put them together for comparison. In addition, you can also find some judges who are willing to make money and participate in this kind of program, but their status and position must be high."

The script doesn't need to be too elaborate. This show is guaranteed to make money no matter how it's filmed. The biggest selling point is avoiding any behind-the-scenes manipulation. Also, the judges should be straightforward; if they disagree, they should speak their mind. That'll make it more interesting, right? Anyway, we're our own people. If they can be promoted, great; if not, it's their own incompetence. If they lack ability, they shouldn't blame us for not giving them special treatment.

Zhou Le spoke up.

Guo Qiling was incredibly impressed. In this regard, he admired Zhou Le the most, as only Zhou Le could say such tough things.

"However, Qi Ling, I recently discovered a game called 'Invisible Guardian,' which seems quite interesting, especially this kind of movie-game format. It looks very promising."

"Brother Le, I think I've heard it before. Some of the internet celebrities from our company mentioned it during their live streams. I only heard them mention it briefly, but I didn't pay much attention to it. After all, games are like that, they come and go in waves these days."

Zhou Le pondered for a moment: "I plan to look into it again later. But Qi Ling, could you help me contact some game companies? They don't have to be big companies, small companies are fine too. I want to see how these games are made and how complicated they are."

"Okay, I'll ask around first."

Guo Qiling hung up the phone, while Zhou Le stayed behind to continue filming.

Director Zhang Yongxin attaches great importance to this drama, from costumes and props to the actors' performances. This is the most "tedious" drama that Zhou Le has ever filmed, even more so than Jiang Wen, except that the "tediousness" of the two is not in the same style.

Jiang Wen is a bit pretentious as a director. He thinks this is good in the morning, and that is good in the afternoon. After sleeping all night, he can come up with a new plan.

But Zhang Yongxin was different. Before filming, he told the actors that this scene would definitely be filmed in several versions, so that the actors could be mentally prepared.

The work is all planned out from the beginning, which is a grueling situation for the actors.

One type is the fear of the unknown, where you don't know if the next cut will come, and if you're lucky, you can survive. The other type is the fear of knowing how many cuts you're about to receive, but being unable to avoid it, which is like being slowly sliced ​​to death. But no matter which type it is, you can't escape it, you can only wait. Who can resist the temptation of this film crew?
As the days went by, their filming location moved from Beijing to Anhui.

Everyone is so immersed in their role that they gradually lose sight of who they are. They only know their character; they are the character when filming and they are the character afterward. They address each other by their characters.

To better embody the character, the actor who played Lu Xun developed excellent calligraphy skills and even developed a smoking habit, smoking until his voice became hoarse.

Zhou Le plays Li Dazhao. Because his own beard wasn't thick enough, he simply pasted a fake beard on and wore it all the time, whether he was at work or not. He would touch it whenever he had free time, to the point that he went from getting his beard dirty while eating to being able to do it with ease later on.

Moreover, since Comrade Li Dazhao's health was not as good later on, Zhou Le also had to start losing weight.

"Teacher Zhou, please try to control your weight during this period. Let's lose as much weight as we can, and I'll take care of the rest." The director approached Zhou Le, as he usually addressed Zhou Le by his first name.

"Director, did you invite Teacher Zhou too?" Zhou Le teased. Although the other party was usually quite serious, he had a good relationship with Zhou Le, so he didn't get angry no matter what Zhou Le said. "It's okay, isn't that what actors are supposed to do? Director, just tell me how thin you want him to be."

Zhang Yongxin directly took out a photo, which he had the post-production team use to Photoshop Zhou Le's photo, intending to use it as the basis for makeup.

After seeing the photo, Zhou Le thought for a moment: "To get to this extent... you'd have to lose at least 30 pounds..."

Zhang Yongxin saw that Zhou Le had already started to think: "Let's take it easy. We only have a month in total, and the post-production and makeup are done by a professional team."

But Zhou Le shook his head: "It's okay, director. I definitely won't ruin my health. I'll try my best to achieve that goal. Actually, I've been watching the last few scenes repeatedly. I really want to perform those scenes well. Although I can do it with makeup and post-production, I just want to truly immerse myself in the role. Only when I become Li Dazhao can I play Li Dazhao well."

Zhang Yongxin was completely stunned by Zhou Le. He knew about actors who lost a lot of weight for filming, but those actors would take a long time to recover after filming a movie.

"Then what about your next film? Your next film is a Zhang Yimou movie. You definitely can't go on as a patient, can you?"

Zhou Le smiled and said, "The patient is definitely not in that condition, but losing a little weight is definitely not a problem. Gaining weight in a short period of time should also be achievable."

Zhang Yongxin took a deep breath: "You're really crazy. You're so young and you're already working so hard. Aren't you afraid you won't be able to keep up when you get old?"

Zhou Le chuckled: "Director, what are you saying? If you don't try to pee as far as you can when you're young, are you going to wait until you're old and all you can do is pee on your shoes?"

"Haha, your analogy is disgusting, but I like it!"

Afterwards, Zhou Le also began a weight loss plan, going to bed hungry every day. His complexion worsened day by day, and his once robust body visibly began to thin. Zhang Yongxin was very worried and had the doctor check Zhou Le's blood pressure and blood sugar every day, fearing that he would collapse on set. However, apart from occasional low blood sugar, Zhou Le's blood sugar was mostly normal, and his weight continued to drop, his face visibly becoming thinner. But this change perfectly matched the changes in the character he was playing. "Sigh, when it comes to dedication, Zhou Le only had one month to prepare. You really have to admire him," Zhang Yongxin always praised Zhou Le when he talked about him.

"To be honest, Zhou Le, in this TV series, Yu Hewei is the male lead. Originally, you could only be considered as a tie but a little behind. But I have seen all your performances. I can't guarantee that you will win any of the Magnolia, Flying Apsaras, or Golden Eagle awards, but I can at least try to get you a nomination. Even if I have to pay out of my own pocket and use my connections, I will definitely get you one!"

Zhou Le: "Director, you're too kind."

He knew that his role as the second male lead was essentially the second male lead. Although they were considered equals, it wasn't the same as the equals Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo in "The Untamed." In a normal awards competition, he would never win. At most, he might get a Best New Actor or an Outstanding Actor award, but those wouldn't be as prestigious as a Best Actor award.

But after the director finished speaking, Zhou Le didn't really take it to heart. The other party said it, but what if he didn't get a nomination? He couldn't exactly go to the director to ask for it, could he? So the best way was to pretend that the words were never spoken and not to think about it in that direction.

Filming "The Age of Awakening" was already very difficult.

Zhang Yongxin also indicated that filming would be completed by September.

To prepare for filming this movie, Zhou Le didn't attend any of the film festivals in June, July, August, and September.

However, in September, Zhang Yimou brought good news: the film needed to be delayed until after the National Day holiday.

However, Zhang Yongxin's "Awakening Age" also received bad news: some of the previously filmed content of "Awakening Age" was not approved, and the higher-ups required the screenwriter to revise part of the script.

So after filming this, they have to wait until winter to reshoot the scenes in BJ.

This means that after Zhou Le loses weight now, he will need to gain weight again to maintain his normal appearance when filming Zhang Yimou's "Cliff Walkers," but he will have to start losing weight again immediately after filming.

"Teacher Zhou! I absolutely keep my word! I'll beg and plead to get you a nomination, and I'll even pay out of my own pocket to buy you trending topics!" Zhang Yongxin felt truly sorry for Zhou Le. After all, all this back and forth would be unbearable for anyone, not even an elephant.

"It's okay, director. As long as you promise me you'll make this film a success, I don't care about anything else. I know that making this kind of serious drama requires opportunities. I got this opportunity this time, but I don't know when I'll get another one. So all I want to do is present my best self in front of the camera!"

Zhang Yongxin patted Zhou Le on the shoulder, then went to Yu Hewei to do some ideological work. On the one hand, he told Yu Hewei about the reshoots that would be done later, and on the other hand, he asked Yu Hewei if Zhou Le could be given a prize during the awards process.

"Director, I wanted to say this even without you saying it. If that's the case, Zhou Le has really had a tough time."

Magnolia, Golden Eagle, Flying Apsaras... I think I could get all three nominations, but for the actual awards, Magnolia and Flying Apsaras would be better. However, I don't think I'll necessarily get the Flying Apsaras, but I should be able to get the Magnolia.

"Hey director, we can submit applications for both the Magnolia Award and the Flying Apsaras Award, right? Submit both my application and Zhou Le's. If I win the Flying Apsaras Award, give the Magnolia Award to Zhou Le. If I don't win the Flying Apsaras Award, then Zhou Le and I will compete for the Magnolia Award and be nominated for the Flying Apsaras Award together. Don't nominate me for the Golden Eagle Award."

Zhang Yongxin nodded. This allocation was indeed better. However, he also had his own ideas. He wanted to give Yu Hewei the Magnolia Award and Zhou Le a nomination, then give Zhou Le the Flying Apsaras Award and Yu Hewei a nomination. He would try to get the Golden Eagle Award for Yu Hewei, but he didn't tell Yu Hewei about it.

However, even during the filming of the drama, Guo Qiling had already found a game company. The company was not large, but it was not completely unknown in the industry.

Previously, the core team of the company was from Tencent, and the game they developed was called "Dou Zhan Shen". In any case, Guo Qiling didn't know who to contact at first, so he contacted Tencent and eventually found this company.

So, after finishing filming, Zhou Le immediately went to Hangzhou to talk to the other party. Before going, Zhou Le learned that the other party planned to make a 3A game, but he was not very interested in this kind of 3A game. He had played some before, although not many, but there was really no environment for making this kind of game in China.

In the past, I simply learned about the production techniques of movies and games. Anyway, since I work in the game industry, I should have some understanding of this aspect.

However, upon arrival, out of politeness, Zhou Le still followed the other party on a tour of the company before they entered the conference room.

"Mr. Zhou, actually, we can also make the kind of film-game you mentioned. The technology used isn't too difficult; it's just about interaction. This kind of interaction is incredibly easy for the game we're making. Of course, the most important aspect of a film-game is the storyline..."

Zhou Le had already made up his mind.

For a film to have a large-scale promotional campaign, it would cost at least tens of millions of yuan.

But I don't want to do that. Why can't the money I spend on buying traffic be used to create something that can generate traffic?

Just like with the original "Detective Chinatown," Chen Si specially created a TV series version in order to build a universe.

Zhou Le doesn't plan to make a TV series; he plans to make a game, turn those tragic events into a movie and game, release it in advance, and then use the game to drive the movie's popularity.

Since they were discussing cooperation, they naturally talked about the subject matter.

Upon hearing the subject matter Zhou Le mentioned, the boss, General Manager Feng, frowned: "Mr. Zhou, it's not that we're unwilling to work on this subject matter for you. As long as you find a good director, we can handle everything for you, including post-production, special effects, and interactive elements. It's just that this subject matter is too sensitive."

It's not that I don't recommend you do it. If you really have an idea, you can leave the technical aspects to us. But you'd better find a director from somewhere around mainland China, like Hong Kong or Taiwan. (End of Chapter)