I'm not a drama freak, I can really see through the script

Chapter 415, in previous years, he would have been a TV King.

The air in Wang Lei's office seemed to freeze.

On the screen, Chen Duxiu's conversation with his friend continues.

One sentence after another, all about ideologies and ideas.

Wang Haiyang sat to the side, feeling as if he had nails stuck in his buttocks, making him extremely uncomfortable.

in fact.

As a modern person.

I've gotten used to seeing things that are free.

Regarding what Li Xuan is expressing now.

There's still a slight, instinctive disconnect between me and what this work expresses.
He secretly glanced at Wang Lei, who remained completely calm and composed.

But Wang Haiyang knew that this was only on the surface.

This time, Li Xuan is really going to be in deep trouble.

He lured the audience in with "Dying to Survive", and then showed them this?
There was a predictable, didactic feel to it. Like the boring stuff the teacher said in Marxist-Leninist class.
Backlash...

It will definitely backfire.

But at this time.

The camera cuts to Japan, to Waseda University.

A group of international students huddled together, holding newspapers, their faces filled with barely suppressed anger.

"Yuan Shikai, the usurper of the country, is trying to restore the monarchy and become emperor. The Republic of China is in imminent danger!"

"The traitor Yuan Shikai signed the Twenty-One Demands, and the Chinese nation is in imminent danger!"

The lines are still just lines.

But the person delivering the lines is different now.

A young man dressed in a school uniform with a long beard stepped forward.

It's Li Xuan.

Wang Haiyang recognized him at a glance.

But the next second, he felt something was wrong.

That's not Li Xuan.

There was not a trace of Li Xuan in that person.

It lacks the shrewdness and roguishness of Cheng Yong in "Dying to Survive," and the elegance and wisdom of Zhuge Liang in "Three Kingdoms."

He was just standing there.

A fire burned in his eyes.

A ball of flame, called grief and indignation, almost burned through the screen.

"Fellow countrymen, the Republic is dying, Qingdao is about to be lost, fellow countrymen, what do you say we should do!"

Not loud.

It was even a little hoarse.

But every word seemed to be roared out from the depths of his chest, as if he had used all his strength.

Wang Haiyang's heart tightened for no apparent reason.

He saw the international student extras on the screen, each one infected by this emotion, their eyes reddening and their fists clenched.

Then, the camera zoomed out for a long take.

The gaze slowly traveled from Li Xuan's face to the faces of every student below the stage.

Anger, resentment, confusion, despair...

Finally, the camera returned to Li Xuan.

"The more critical the nation's survival, the more we should awaken the people's consciousness and revitalize the national spirit!"

Those who go against the tide of history will inevitably be swept away by the torrent of time!

One shot.

No switch was made.

There are no close-ups.

It is a long, straightforward shot that contains an overwhelming force.

Wang Haiyang subconsciously sat up straight.

Regardless of any preaching or didacticism.

How to make someone feel bored.

But at this moment, Li Xuan...

The acting skills he displayed.

That's just how real it is.

It's as if there's a certain kind of...

He is a person from that world.

No matter how many times.

Watching his acting is an ultimate enjoyment.

A true actor.

A true director and producer is someone who has complete control over their own life.

"Watching his acting is always a pleasure, no matter how many times you watch it. You feel the same way, right, Wang Haiyang?"

Wang Haiyang had a complicated expression on his face.

"Well, there's simply no actor here who can compare to him."

"No, not at all."

……

At the same time, in Liu Meizhen's hotel suite.

The blonde, blue-eyed assistant was almost asleep.

She leaned back on the sofa, nodding her head as if she were fishing.

so boring.

For a Westerner, these accounts of the beginnings of modern Chinese history are simply too dry.

What republic, what monarchy, what Twenty-One Demands...

She didn't understand a word.

In her opinion, the pace of this show was slower than the speed at which her grandmother knitted a sweater.

Liu Meizhen, on the other hand, watched with great interest.

She held her teacup, her gaze never leaving the screen.

“Look, this is their history,” she whispered to her assistant.

"Hmm..." the assistant mumbled a response, her eyelids drooping.

Liu Meizhen shook her head and said nothing more.

She could understand how her assistant felt.

But she is different.

As a senior executive at Lionsgate and a Hollywood broker, she had studied China.

She knew what the "Twenty-One Demands" meant.

That was a shame etched into my very bones.

On the screen, the plot unfolds in the conference room of the Beiyang government.

Yuan Shikai sat in the main seat, his face ashen.

Vice Foreign Minister Cao Rulin, sweating profusely, reported Japan's ultimatum.

"...You must accept this within 48 hours, or we will take over Shandong directly..."

"A Japanese naval formation is showing signs of heading towards the East China Sea..."

"Coward!"

Yuan Shikai slammed his hand on the table, and the entire teacup jumped up.

That roar was filled with resentment and helplessness.

Liu Meizhen watched this scene with a slight smile on her lips.

See it.

This was exactly the scenario she had anticipated.

Humiliation, incompetence, weakness.

The final lament of a once-great empire.

While this sentiment may resonate with Chinese audiences, it is ultimately negative.

Watching too much of this will only make you feel depressed and irritable.

This is on a completely different track from the pure sensory stimulation of "The Walking Dead" and the high-IQ crime thrill of "Breaking Bad".

It's impossible for it to be "good-looking".

This is Liu Meizhen's judgment.

However, the next scene made her brows furrow slightly.

The streets of BJ.

On one side, there was a funeral procession for high-ranking officials and nobles, with white banners fluttering in the wind.

On the other side, there was a wedding procession from a wealthy family, with red silk ribbons fluttering in the wind.

The two teams passed each other on the narrow street.

There wasn't a single line of dialogue.

There wasn't even a main actor.

But that absurdity, that irony, that apocalyptic chaos struck Liu Meizhen's heart like a heavy hammer.

Such sophisticated cinematic language.

She thought to herself.

This is not simply preaching; it's telling a story and expressing emotions through visuals.

That young man named Li Xuan...

Something.

Just as she was thinking this, the plot moved forward again.

On May 9, 1915, the Beiyang government signed the Twenty-One Demands.

The news caused a national uproar.

The camera panned across the country.

Workers went on strike in Hankou, merchants went on strike in Changsha, and students took to the streets, raising their arms and shouting slogans.

"We swear to avenge this national humiliation!"

"Refusing to acknowledge the Twenty-One Demands!" Those images were in black and white.

It has the grainy texture characteristic of historical documentaries.

However, Liu Meizhen astutely discovered that these images were not all old materials.

Many of them were recently filmed.

Li Xuan used modern technology to recreate the scene from that year.

The sense of realism is overwhelming.

This is not a TV series.

This is like watching a... documentary.

An immersive historical documentary filmed using cinematic techniques.

Liu Meizhen put down her teacup and leaned forward slightly.

She realized that her previous judgment might have been wrong.

Li Xuan was not "lecturing".

He was "showcasing".

He tore open that humiliating history again, bloodily and without any embellishment, and presented it to all the viewers.

He forces you to see, forces you to feel.

It forces every Chinese person to relive that humiliation imprinted in the national gene...

at this time.

Liu Meizhen's eyes turned serious.

“He’s gotten stronger again.”

Liu Meizhen has fewer points of emotional resonance.

But at the same time, she was able to pay more attention to other things about Li Xuan.

For example, the technical skills used.

Focus more rationally on whether the work itself is aesthetically pleasing.

This is a very dry topic.

Can't say no.

But at this moment, Li Xuan was fully immersed in his acting.

These things are right here.

Make this work enjoyable.

A visual representation that is intuitive.

The overall impression is that it looks good.

This is what makes the visual presentation so excellent.

Use hard power.

Remove the most boring topics.

"A simple and crude method, but it is indeed effective."

Watch them act.

The emotions conveyed through facial expressions can also be a source of enjoyment.

A conclusion that surprised even Liu Meizhen came to a somewhat unexpected conclusion.

It seems I have a good grasp of what's to come in the next part of the story.

interested in.

The phone in Wang Lei's office suddenly rang.

The sharp ringing of the bell shattered the silence in the room.

Wang Haiyang was startled and hurriedly picked up the microphone.

"Mr. Wang... it's... it's a call from the publicity department." He covered the receiver and whispered to Wang Lei.

Wang Lei's gaze remained fixed on the television screen.

"Put it on speakerphone," he said calmly.

Wang Haiyang pressed the speakerphone button.

An anxious voice immediately came from the receiver.

"Mr. Wang! Something's happened! The online popularity of 'Awakening Era'... has exploded!"

"What's going on? Tell me the details." Wang Lei's voice remained calm.

"The data...the data is very strange!" The voice on the other end of the phone was tinged with confusion and excitement.

"CCTV's real-time viewership ratings started showing a very steep upward curve in the latter half of the first episode! It has now broken 1.5! And it's still rising!"

"On the internet, in the top ten trending topics on Weibo, just now 'The Human World' occupied three spots, but now... now 'The Age of Awakening' has also surged up, dropping two spots out of nowhere!"

How humiliating were the Twenty-One Demands?

Li Xuan's portrayal of Li Dazhao

"The popularity of these two topics skyrocketed!"

"And Douban! The ratings on Douban haven't even opened yet, but the short review section is already exploding! It's all five stars! A lot of people are saying that they originally went out of respect for Li Xuan because of 'Dying to Survive,' but... but they got hooked!"

The report on the other end of the phone was delivered at an extremely fast pace and contained a huge amount of information.

That's just how the internet age is.

Many things can be fed back in real time.

Wang Haiyang was stunned.

He turned to look at Wang Lei and found that the other man finally showed a hint of expression.

It wasn't surprise, nor joy.

Rather, it was a kind of... "I knew it was true" understanding.

Wang Lei waved his hand, signaling Wang Haiyang to hang up the phone.

"Calm down. Given the success of 'Dying to Survive,' I wouldn't be surprised if it dragged down the ratings of 'Awakening Era' in its first episode."

Silence returned to the office.

On the television screen, the plot had progressed to the first meeting between Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu.

A disheveled man, wolfing down his food, said, "This kind of country is beyond saving."

One of them, filled with righteous indignation and passionate fervor, protected the man who had been beaten by the crowd and led him away.

Wang Haiyang looked at the two figures on the screen.

One of them is Li Xuan.

another……

“Liu Hewei…” Wang Haiyang murmured to himself.

He recognized him; the actor playing Chen Duxiu was Liu Hewei.

A recognized, veteran actor.

After the new Three Kingdoms, he was already the de facto TV King, a true uncrowned emperor.

Aside from not receiving an award certificate.

The resources and achievements he acquired are genuine.

On the screen...

Wang Haiyang, however, witnessed a scene that he could hardly believe.

Liu Hewei's performance was overshadowed by Li Xuan...

It's not the kind of overwhelming dominance in acting skills.

It's not so much about aura, rhythm, or complete leadership.

When Li Xuan, who plays Li Dazhao, looks intently at Liu Hewei, who plays Chen Duxiu.

When he said, "Finding a path to save China is my lifelong pursuit, Li Dazhao's goal,"

Wang Haiyang could clearly sense that Liu Hewei's performance was a passive "responding" act.

His reactions, his emotions, and the rhythm of his entire performance were all guided by Li Xuan.

The person who took him away was not actor Li Xuan.

It's that character, Li Dazhao.

That's the kind of acting skill you get.

Who dares to say that?

Who can say?

"Now we'll see if he can capitalize on the ratings boost brought by 'Dying to Survive'."

At this moment, Wang Lei was watching.

Li Dazhao gave his overcoat to Chen Duxiu, who was dressed in thin clothes.

Watching the two of them under the cherry blossom tree, they made a pact to find a way to save the country together.

He watched Chen Duxiu board the ship back to China, gazing out the window at the Shandong Peninsula, his eyes filled with humiliation and indignation.

I'm curious to see what these two will do next.

We look forward to seeing how they will "awaken".

"This is not a didactic film."

Wang Lei stood up, walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, and looked down at the myriad lights of the city below.

"He made everyone see the scars of that era."

"Then he will tell everyone how he got this scar."

Wang Lei's tone carried a hint of admiration that Wang Haiyang had never heard before.

Unbelievable.

If Wang Lei loses this time, he will lose 'everything'.
Wang Haiyang was very impressed that Wang Lei could evaluate the series so objectively.

Where exactly do our own technologies lag behind?

He seemed to be asking Wang Haiyang, but also seemed to be asking himself.

"Perhaps... it's not that our things are outdated."