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

Chapter 428: Stormy Night is Coming, Scheduled for Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day)
"How many did he reject?"

"There are quite a few. It seems that he turned down all the roles except for those specifically requested by the authorities."

"..."

Teacher Zhang remained silent for a moment.

It was initially thought that this first time the film industry had "opened its heart" to Chi Ye would be a sensational event, with many people about to witness the birth of a superstar, who would snatch up some of the most lucrative opportunities in the Chinese entertainment industry in a short period of time.

But looking at it now...

Is it genuine confidence, or is it simply an incurable trait?
Teacher Zhang fell into deep thought, feeling that he could no longer see through Chi Ye. In fact, it seemed that no one could see through him.

Is he still filming "The Wandering Earth"?

"Ah."

How much stock does he still have on him?

"It seems like there was only one movie that I filmed this summer, and it wasn't long after filming wrapped up, and then that was it."

"Speaking of this, Chi Ye seems to be getting more and more reckless lately. He doesn't care much about the media taking pictures of him and Jin Xia anymore. The fans have gotten used to it and are no longer as crazy as they used to be."

Upon hearing this, Teacher Zhang had a strange premonition. It wasn't just that Chi Ye was becoming less and less restrained; the fact that he had rejected so many investors and directors was proof of this.

However, this refusal did not cause the widespread dissatisfaction that had occurred before. This was mainly due to the change in status, and Coco did indeed follow Ikeno's instructions and was much more tactful when dealing with these matters.

Privately, he no longer cares too much. The "black mark" that used to hang over his head has been easily resolved after Coconut successfully transformed itself.

What does it mean to be fearless? It means no longer being afraid of losing.

Previously, Chi Ye's biggest base was the terrifying popularity he had built up through idol dramas like "My Love from the Star," which far surpassed that of other artists in the Chinese entertainment industry.

Therefore, he could not afford to lose this support; without it, his career development at that time would have been extremely difficult.

But now his base is no longer just his popularity; greater capital and accumulated works have allowed him to successfully and brilliantly transform.

Even without that impressive traffic, Ikeno is still Ikeno, and there won't be much change.

If this trend continues...

Teacher Zhang's heart suddenly skipped a beat—in the near future, perhaps this year, something major that no one could have predicted might happen in the Chinese entertainment industry.

Once this happens, it will cause an earthquake in the entire Chinese entertainment industry, and countless new top celebrities will emerge. Various capital firms and companies will benefit from this and become sharks vying for market gaps.

Who will ultimately emerge victorious?
The work itself, and the information received in advance.

Teacher Zhang suddenly changed the subject, asking, "Do you have any outstanding new employees in our company who are good-looking and have great figures?"

"Well, there are a few girls..."

"male."

The assistant was taken aback, quickly searched his mind, and hesitated before shaking his head: "To say the most outstanding one, there isn't one... but there are two who participated in variety shows this year and have good popularity, so they can be considered newly popular celebrities."

"...I discussed a few scripts with Director Chen. Have Mr. Wu from the team pick two suitable ones...Never mind, I'll do it myself. Tell the team that we might increase our investment, and we also want the male lead."

"what?"

The assistant, bewildered by Ms. Zhang's sudden reaction, exclaimed in surprise, "Ms. Ziyi, this..."

"You choose the script yourself, you choose the male lead yourself, and you still want to invest more?"

"Yeah, if we don't offer more offers, how can we get the lead role?"

Teacher Zhang looked at the other person frankly, without hiding her own guesses: "Pay attention to the release date of 'My Sassy Girl'... It's possible that the biggest upheaval in the Chinese entertainment industry in the past decade is about to happen."

The assistant's heart skipped a beat. He thought that Teacher Zhang had received some news about something else. He was very nervous, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions. He hurriedly ran out to make arrangements.

……

In mid-April, Shi Jinwei's contract with Taiyang Entertainment officially expired, and shortly afterward, Shi Jinwei's personal studio announced that it had joined Yeguo Culture.

Like Shang Youshu, she also uses the studio as a form of nominal affiliation.

Here I want to talk about the structure of the artists signed by Coconut Culture, which is different from that of other top companies in the Chinese entertainment industry at present.

The difference between them is that they cooperate with artists as "partners". It is called nominal cooperation, but in fact, it is a partnership. For example, after Shang Jie signed with Yeguo, she became an artist of Yeguo. But at the same time, her identity is not only an artist, but also a "shareholder".

Similar to several emerging top companies in the Chinese entertainment industry, such as Hesong, they relied on this partnership system to surpass many former industry giants and rise to the ranks of new elites in just a few years.

Celebrities are no longer just celebrities, especially big-name celebrities like Shang Youshu and Shi Jinwei; they are also their own bosses.

This collaborative model is a pioneering one in the Chinese entertainment industry, and shortly after Shi Jinwei's official announcement, many industry leaders turned their attention to Yeguo.

After all, who wouldn't want to enjoy the resources and benefits of a top company while also having a great deal of autonomy?

"Brother Chi, Yangzi said he wants to sign with our company."

That day, Chi Ye had just finished filming when he suddenly heard the devastating news and was shocked: "Get him out of here!"

Coco almost choked when she heard this, and said, "He said he didn't come for nothing. He even asked Sister Huang to sign with us. He just hopes that we can give him more opportunities to appear on Mango TV's variety shows in the future."

"Purely addictive."

Chi Ye gave a very fair assessment, then shook his head: "Let the child's teacher take a break. Although our company isn't that big yet, we can't sign contracts with minors."

cocoa:"……"

Seeing that Chi Ye was unwilling to speak plainly about this, she did not continue the topic, because she also felt that Yang Zi was just making a fuss and there was no need to pay attention to it.

She brought up another matter that was very important to Ikeno... or rather, to everyone at Coconut.

"We're already discussing the release date for 'Girlfriend,' Brother Chi, what do you think... which day would be most suitable? That way we can develop a publicity and marketing plan."

"My Sassy Girl" is a film with a relatively small budget but excellent production quality. It's somewhat similar to "You Are the Apple of My Eye," a film produced by Coconut Entertainment in its early days. For Coconut Entertainment's current size, it's far from significant. However, if you connect this film with Ikeno personally, everything changes.

First of all, this is Ikeno's first film as a director - it seems to have little impact on the company. The worst outcome is that the film flops, and Coconut can afford such a loss at the moment.

The important thing is the meaning behind this film...

Sure enough, what Ikeno said made Coco's heart flutter for some reason.

"Let's do it this Valentine's Day. Didn't we discuss it before? Valentine's Day has a good meaning, and it matches the theme and content of the movie quite well."

Hearing this, Coco paused for two seconds before saying, "Then let's tentatively set it for Qixi Festival?"

"It shouldn't be tentative, it can be confirmed now."

Ikeno asked, "Is it because the post-production can't be completed? Or is it a problem with the approval time? I think I've already made arrangements."

"...It can be made, no problem."

Coco shook her head, chatted for a few more minutes, and was about to leave when Chi Ye suddenly called out to her, "Wait."

Coco stopped in her tracks: "What's wrong?"

"Let's postpone the idol dramas that Mango TV has already scheduled to air, as well as our company's projects, for now."

Upon hearing this, Coco couldn't help but cry out, her face falling: "Brother Chi... don't scare me, won't something bad happen?"

"There's always something we need to prepare."

Chi Ye was quite frank. In reality, he was still quite concerned about the team and the company. He would only consider the next steps after Yego had fully risen to prominence and established itself.

It's almost time, but Coconut Jelly has to devour this biggest piece of the cake.

He might be the first person in the history of the Chinese entertainment industry to be officially announced as having "moved to a higher level." As for the other top-tier celebrities, they were basically brought down after something happened.

In fact, Ikeno is not sure what kind of big thing will happen when that time comes. After all, this is not sudden. There have been several examples before, and Ikeno's fans are more or less prepared for this outcome.

After all, Ikeno is a normal man, and he's not as old as he used to be. It's time for him to come to a conclusion.

Doing this is more likely a preventative measure, to avoid any unforeseen problems, and also to maximize the company's gains should an unexpected event occur.

Compared to Coconut's current portfolio, other companies are clearly no match for them. In terms of quality alone, they are a level below, which is one of the reasons why Ikeno is quite confident.

The drama "Love O2O" made Tao Cheng and Deng Ziman famous, and "The Silent Truth" made Liu Qi and Guo Chen famous. Other hit dramas that were no less successful than these works could have appeared one after another before "My Sassy Girl" was released.

For the artists at Yeejelly, that would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

But... Coco was still a little dazed.

She had already heard what Chi Ge was going to do next. Not only her, but the entire company, and even those in the industry with a keen sense of smell, were probably waiting for that moment to arrive, and then launching a new round of competition for traffic.

He's been at the top of the popularity charts for far too long. From "My Love from the Star" to now, Chi Ye is probably the first person in the history of the Chinese entertainment industry to have such a terrifying amount of traffic for such a long time—even Yu Yan at his peak couldn't compare to him.

All of this should have changed after the hype surrounding "My Love from the Star" died down, but Ikeno managed to stay afloat with "Goblin," which allowed him to continue to occupy the most dazzling, and also the most popular, position.

Aren't other people envious?

There are many top celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry, but there can only ever be one who can be called a dominant force.

The time it takes for a fault to become a top-tier financial entity is calculated in "thousands of gold," demonstrating its astonishing ability to attract money. In just a few years, it enabled Ikeno to earn enough to buy a coconut, which speaks volumes.

No matter how envious or jealous they were, they didn't dare to compete, nor did they have the ability or strength to compete with Ikeno.

All of Ikeno's former rivals have long been defeated, and the newly promoted group of people simply do not have the ability to compete with Ikeno. This position will only have a new turning point when time passes, and Ikeno enters his forties and fifties and completely loses his halo.

Or maybe... Ikeno himself got tired of this position and didn't want to stay there anymore. It's like what everyone often jokes about: "No one can take me away from me. I don't want it anymore, so it's up to you."

Currently, it seems that the latter situation is more common, and this behavior will inevitably lead to the biggest power struggle in the Chinese entertainment industry in nearly ten years. The outcome of this power struggle will likely affect the landscape of the Chinese entertainment industry for the next ten years.

Companies and artists who benefit from this competition will become the new protagonists of the Chinese entertainment industry in the next decade, shining brightly and receiving endless accolades.

Coco walked out of the room, glanced back at the completely "sci-fi" filming location, and all her emotions vanished, replaced by a surge of pride—such a huge project, now Coconut could do it all with ease.

Chi Ge has reached a point in his career as an actor and singer where he can be capricious, but also restrain himself in certain ways, so... why worry?
……

Time flies, and the filming of "The Wandering Earth" is progressing smoothly. In early June, a location change took place, and the filming speed was subsequently accelerated. By early July, half of the project had been completed.

Starting this month, rumors began circulating online that "My Sassy Girl" might be scheduled for release on Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day) this year.

But at first, nobody believed it.

For example, several big names in the film industry, such as Huayi Brothers and Bona Film Group, who had always been at odds with Ikeno, didn't quite believe that Ikeno would choose such a release date.

The current situation in the Chinese film industry is that the name Chi Ye itself carries a certain box office appeal. This influence is genuine and built on solid achievements, and everyone has to admit it at this point.

Given the principle of maximizing profits through a blockbuster film, Ikeno would definitely choose a release date that coincides with a super popular period, such as... the National Day holiday, which is only about a month later than the Qixi Festival.

This is the schedule that Ikeno should choose, and it's also the most suitable schedule for him.

"Qixi Festival slot... This concept didn't even exist before. Those marketing accounts outside are really something. Quite a few people in the industry actually believed it. Tell me about them, haha."

One day, Mr. Wang from Huayi went to have tea with Mr. Yu from Bona. During the trip, they inevitably started talking about the recent hot topic. Mr. Wang shook his head and laughed, "Chi Ye is a marketing master."

"Yes, we should learn from his film marketing skills."

Mr. Yu nodded, then stroked the stubble on his chin and suddenly said, "He's a marketing genius, so... for the Qixi Festival?"

Mr. Wang raised an eyebrow: "Impossible, just for this gimmick, that's... such a waste, isn't it? That day was a weekday."

"Hmm... I don't know. I can't figure out Chi Ye. Last time he rejected three or four top-tier projects. Who can understand what he's trying to do?"

(End of this chapter)