Who said this top flow is crazy! This top flow is awesome!

Chapter 404 International Chapter? International Pool!
@LurkingDrama: [Codename "Deep Sea," starting December 28th, Hunan TV & Mango TV, "Lurking Mode" activated, the show is about to begin!]

The official announcement was simple, but the scale and impact should have been much greater. However, the subtle atmosphere in the industry recently has been noticed by everyone, so naturally, they will make decisions that benefit themselves.

—Fans are not included.

"It's finally going to air!"

"Excited! Seeing Ikeno nominated for a Golden Globe and potentially an Oscar makes me even more excited!"

"Fans are being overhyped. What? An Oscar nomination? A nomination without any basis?"

"Remember this: no matter whether Coconut is nominated for an Oscar this time or not, his achievements are something your master can never catch up to in his entire life."

"Stop copying and pasting, is this the standard line from Ikeno fans? I'm just a casual observer, I don't have any favorite celebrities, thank you."

"It's trending! Awesome!"

Despite not having the help of his many "friends" in the industry, how terrifying is Ikeno's current popularity?
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he is the most outstanding artist since the rise of internet celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry, without exception.

Therefore, within just ten minutes of the official announcement of "Lurking", related hot topics such as #LurkingReleaseDate#, #ChiYeSpyWar#, and #LingBingBingChiYe# had already soared to the top of the trending search list.

Ling Bingbing also immediately reposted the official Weibo post and tagged Chi Ye: 【@《潜伏》TV series @Chi Ye, Yu Zecheng, hello.】

Shortly after, Ikeno replied: 【@Cuiping, hello.】

One is a top-tier celebrity, and the other is one of the Four Great Actresses, both top-tier actresses in the film industry. The effect of their "first" interaction is no less than the bombardment of other S+ level celebrities.

After the news broke, Jin Xia, Shang Jie, and Shi Jinwei, who had received the news, also reposted the Weibo post.

The official announcement of "Lurking" then sparked a lot of buzz.

As for the other onlookers, they seemed rather insignificant.

"Everyone says that Chi Ye has no friends in the industry, but all his friends are top stars. The fact that four of the most popular actresses can help him promote his work together is probably a first in the Chinese entertainment industry, right?"

"No, this has happened in movies before."

"Four? Hasn't Sheng Ning been quiet?"

"Who said that? Sheng Ning just posted on Weibo."

"...Four friends, hehe, four little lovers?"

"Be careful what you say. Just enjoy the show and don't say anything reckless."

"..."

The general consensus within the industry regarding the TV series "Lurking" is that it is a normal or acceptable show.

What constitutes a normal viewpoint?

That means that with a cast like Chi Ye and Ling Bingbing, a drama like this is basically guaranteed to be a hit. Its minimum standard is set once the cast is officially announced, and there's not much chance of any surprises.

Of course, if you say it can explode, people don't necessarily think so.

First of all, having a huge breakout in the entertainment industry is a very mysterious thing. Very few artists can have a breakout from beginning to end... no, not very few, but never.

There will always be a few chances to make a mistake.

The screenwriter of "Lurking" is not Chi Ye. This is the first time he has participated in a script and project that he was not involved in since he became famous - this fact had been widely known before, and it is also the reason why everyone has doubts.

If we're talking about Ikeno's current status, this is probably the only chance he could make a mistake, and the probability of that is quite high.

If this doesn't work, what if Ikeno himself writes the script for a big production? Is there still hope?

"My Love from the Star" and "Goblin" are already two milestone classics in the history of idol dramas in the Chinese entertainment industry. "My Love from the Star" is known as the ceiling of Asian idol dramas, while "Goblin" is known as the king of modern idol dramas.

Don't say Ichino has never acted in a period drama... How many fans and viewers are now looking forward to Ichino's period drama debut?

Many fans still swoon over Chi Ye's few period drama appearances on various streaming platforms every day.

There is no such thing as poor grades.

"Is he trying to find a breakthrough point with this TV series at this juncture?"

Inside Ling Bingbing's hospital room.

Teacher Zhang and several friends came to visit Ling Bingbing today.

As one of the Four Great Actresses, Zhang Ziyi's relationship with Ling Bingbing was actually just so-so when she was young. To be precise, none of the Four Great Actresses had a good relationship.

The intensity of their feuds when they were young far exceeded that of the current "Four Little Tigers" and other young artists.

But times have changed. Now everyone has achieved success and fame, and with age, they've learned to "wear suits and ties." Only when they occasionally see the clumsy and conservative online feuds of today's young actors and actresses do they sigh, "Is this what you call feuding?"

Of course, if we were to ask who the four leading actresses in the Chinese entertainment industry admire the most, it would definitely be Chi Ye.

As the only young artist today who is even more eccentric than they were back then, each of the four leading actresses harbors a strong prejudice against Chi Ye—Xu Yingying is gone and was a mortal enemy, so their prejudice is even stronger.

At that moment, Ning Mo sat down next to Ling Bingbing and squeezed her cold hand: "How are you feeling? Any better?"

"much better."

Ling Bingbing's face was still a little pale. Her physical condition had never been very good. The health problems she developed from working too hard when she was young had finally come to a head this time, triggered by a certain event.

"Eh."

Seeing that no one was responding to her question, Teacher Zhang blinked and sat down on the other side to peel an orange for Ling Bingbing: "Don't you have any ideas right now?"

Ling Bingbing turned and glanced at her, then smiled, "Thoughts? What thoughts do I have?"

"You and Ikeno co-starred in 'Lurking,' but given Ikeno's current situation..."

Teacher Zhang hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"Ziyi, Chi Yeren is a good guy. This time it's not what people outside think. Others may not know, but don't you know? I think he shouldn't be in any big trouble."

Hearing this, Teacher Zhang remained noncommittal, but then probed further: "It's just a TV series, how can you find a breakthrough?"

Ling Bingbing thought for a moment and gave a brief evaluation: "This play is indeed well written."

Teacher Zhang was taken aback and was about to speak again when Ning Mo laughed speechlessly: "Alright, alright, Sister Zhang, stop asking. We came here to see Bingbing. You've been asking about Chi Ye for too long, it's like you've already won the battle."

Teacher Zhang pursed her lips: "I just don't quite understand it. I don't understand where he gets such confidence."

"Are you afraid that Ikeno will actually be nominated for an Oscar this time?" With her thoughts exposed, Teacher Zhang did not hide anything. When she was young, she was always ridiculed for being scheming, but would a truly scheming person be so easily seen through by others, or even by the national audience?
It can't be said that Teacher Zhang isn't cunning, but in private he's definitely not as "wise and alert" as he appears.

She was slightly resentful: "I've been acting for so many years, and I haven't even received a single Oscar, let alone an Oscar... while he only made one movie..."

Ling Bingbing couldn't help but scoff: "At this age, you're still so competitive?"

"Besides, if you're so competitive, compare yourself to your peers, not to a junior like Ikeno."

"Eh."

Upon hearing this, Teacher Zhang was immediately displeased. The older a woman gets, the more she is sensitive about having her age mentioned, especially since she felt that she was becoming more beautiful with age.

Hearing Ling Bingbing's words, he was naturally a little dissatisfied: "I'm not old, and besides, what kind of junior is Chi Ye? Aren't you two supposed to be equals?"

Ling Bingbing remained silent for a while, and did not continue the topic with Teacher Zhang.

"Alright, alright."

Ning Mo waved his hand, and Teacher Zhang looked slightly unhappy.

On the contrary, Ning Mo became somewhat interested in "Lurking," which Ling Bingbing had been praising. After all, they knew that Ling Bingbing hadn't started praising "Lurking" at this point, but had said similar things before even taking on the script.

"Isn't it just a spy drama? This kind of genre has been quite niche in recent years. What kind of tricks can they come up with this time?"

"You'll know when you see it."

Ling Bingbing didn't say much about this. She was indeed attracted by the script of "Lurking". Working with Chi Ye was secondary. However, even so, she was not sure if she could guarantee that "Lurking" would be a hit.

Market forces are a mysterious thing, second only to the mystical nature of the Chinese entertainment industry.

It's well known that spy dramas have been a niche genre for the past decade. Many struggling actors have no choice but to enter this field in order to cultivate a "powerful" persona.

Unfortunately, due to the large number of people with similar ideas and their own lack of ability, this field has now been ruined.

Ikeno and her acting skills are beyond doubt, but it would be unrealistic to say that they weren't nervous at all when the show was finally going to be released.

"That's rare."

Ning Mo nodded, while Teacher Zhang frowned, clearly still thinking about whether Chi Ye could achieve anything overseas this time.

……

He did not disappoint Mr. Zhang. Although there is still no word on the Oscars, Ikeno has indeed had a fruitful year at other overseas film festivals where he was nominated.

First, there's the recently held Tokyo International Film Festival.

Perhaps because of "Lemon", Ikeno's popularity on "Hinamatsuri" is now exceptionally high, which has once again surprised many people in China.

It's actually difficult for a piece of music to bring much added value to Ikeno in other fields.

However, it can erase Ikeno's status as a "foreigner" and allow everyone to continue to view his nominations and works on an equal footing.

In addition, the Tokyo International Film Festival is one of the largest film festivals in the Asia-Pacific region, and Chinese actors and actresses have won Best Actor and Best Actress awards in its history.

Ikeno wasn't the first, but he was definitely the one with the biggest fanfare.

In addition to the Best Actor award at the Tokyo International Film Festival, he also received awards such as the BAFTA Best Actor and the European Screen Actors Guild Best Actor.

The latter two were once Zhang's proudest "honors," but now Chi Ye has "easily" obtained them. "International Zhang" now has an additional "International Chi" on her head.

On the day he won numerous Best Actor awards, Chi Ye unsurprisingly dominated the trending topics list again. However, these awards and honors, just as President Gong and President Chen had said in their conversation, did not play a significant role in his current situation.

Come to think of it, it makes sense. While a few overseas film stars may indeed have considerable talent, they don't have much direct connection to such a massive level of capital investment.

The fact that Ikeno's most prestigious award-winning actors are mainly concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region has further led to the "usual" mindset among the public.

After all, even if he doesn't take it now, with his terrifying popularity in Asia, he will have a chance to get it sooner or later.

This doesn't prove anything; at most, it just shows that Ikeno's status and popularity overseas are indeed genuine, and his position in the Chinese entertainment industry has reached a professional peak.

That's it.

Ikeno himself didn't expect to achieve anything significant through these film festivals. The main reason he didn't return to Japan was to communicate with several overseas distributors.

The Golden Globe Award is secondary, although it is currently the most talked-about award for Ikeno and the one that has the best chance of "helping" him.

But compared to the details of his negotiations with the publisher, it seems insignificant.

“The Oscars’ annual operating expenses are astronomical.”

Two weeks after arriving, Ikeno sat in an office with the head of one of the largest distributors in the United States, who was gesturing wildly as he said, “But The Martian is undoubtedly an excellent film, it deserves that honor, it’s just that we are still short of funds… uh, my colleagues and I really like it, Ikeno, you understand?”

Ikeno glanced at him sideways: "I don't understand."

principal:"……"

"Money, money, money."

He and Ikeno were already quite familiar with each other. They first collaborated on "Flu," but their first contact was actually during the "My Love from the Star" period. Although "My Love from the Star" did not have a strong influence in the West, as one of the representatives who always advocated not giving up on the fertile market of the East, he was no stranger to "My Love from the Star."

It was because of his attention that the collaboration on "Flu" came about. Their distribution was the first collaboration to be reached with "Flu," and they also handled the subsequent premieres in hundreds of countries around the world and Ikeno's appearance at the Blue Dragon Film Awards in South Korea.

Undoubtedly, these operations made him a lot of money, and he still remembers them fondly.

Because of this relationship, his attitude toward the Oscar nomination for "The Martian" is unusually positive.

Coincidentally, he also has the ability to actually do it.

"This is not groundbreaking... Of course, I mean your Taiwan Province and Hong Kong have both done it before. If we were to use the terminology used in mainland China, it would be groundbreaking, but that's not important."

"The important thing is money. The Martian has a strong influence in the world. Although it is a commercial film, there is no doubt that its hard science fiction attributes are enough to leave a mark on film history."

The person in charge blinked shrewdly: "So, my friend, Chi, all we lack right now is money, as long as you have enough..."

"Then I'll retire and enjoy my retirement."

Person in charge: "?"

Ikeno Ichiro stopped joking and thought for a moment before saying, "I was just asking, but since you've put it that way... could you have someone give me a document later so I can take a look?"

"YES, you've made one of the greatest decisions of your career, and you'll feel it was well worth it."

(End of this chapter)