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

Chapter 431, People Change, Everyone Has Their Own Interests and Positions
At this time, the domestic entertainment industry was also in turmoil.

Li Xuan, the leading figure of the seventh generation of directors, one of the four great directors in China, is a TV drama actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and is very young.

Zhang Yimou, the leading figure of the Fifth Generation of Chinese directors, is China's top director and a highly influential figure in the Chinese-language film industry both domestically and internationally, wielding absolute power.

"With these two at the center, one is the 'Li Circle,' and the other is the 'Zhang Circle,' each representing its own interests."

At this moment, Cai Yulong watched with great interest.
Liu Lili, standing beside her, also looked at this strong woman born in the 80s—whom she once thought was the most talented and gifted young person in the entertainment industry. She had managed to survive and thrive in the cracks of the Beijing entertainment circle on her own, and was now considered a giant in her own right.

The reigning champion of period dramas, "Scarlet Heart," established a dominant position in the television industry with just one series.
The artists under its management include Hu Qu and Liu Shishi.

The male gods in period dramas, the four little actresses, are absolutely wildly popular in Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. It's already somewhat replicating the feeling of "My Fair Princess" back then.

After the decline of 'wuxia period dramas', Tangren Media directly seized the huge market share of 'period dramas' and became a true industry giant.
For Cai Yulong to achieve this level at her age, if it weren't for the presence of the all-around warrior Li Xuan, she would be the most outstanding young talent of this generation.

At a young age, Li Xuan won everything in a single bet by using 'content'.

Huayi has complete control over everything.

He has everything he needs now.

The only thing missing is the resources—everything he has—to propel him to the position of 'unique'.
One option is to replace the position of the number one Chinese speaker.
“You know, there’s something really magical about the entertainment industry. Its ‘trend’ can change; it can follow the leaders.” Cai Yulong paused and said, “Like before, we always used the Beijing entertainment circle as a benchmark. Most of our behavior and the principles behind our actions were based on that Beijing circle’s logic. Because it’s human instinct to follow what is ‘correct and successful’.”

Liu Lili neither confirmed nor denied this.

Following the experience of successful people is a crude, simple, and straightforward principle.

One, the truth.

An irrefutable principle applicable to all.

To put it philosophically and macroscopically, civilization is born from the consensus of conformity.

The entertainment industry.

It also evolved gradually from the very beginning, from model operas, and even from opera troupes from even earlier times.

That's how we came to have this huge market today.

"Yes, what you said is fine." Liu Lili paused and said, "So, what are you thinking about?"

“From a personal perspective, I admire Li Xuan a lot. I’ve even wanted to bring her under my wing countless times, and I’m willing to pay any price for it. If she’s willing, she can even have my body.” Cai Yulong joked, “Of course, he probably wouldn’t care about that.”

"It doesn't seem appropriate to say that about my future son-in-law in front of me."

"Haha, he's practically your future son-in-law now!"

Cai Yulong sighed with emotion.

"Indeed, even the Beijing elite circle can't do it, so how could I possibly do it?"

"But actually, when Li Xuan actually sits in that position, I feel a different kind of emotion. I'm scared."

The initial 'appreciation' and 'winning over'.

That's because Li Xuan is still in a position below them, and still needs to rely on the circle and the resources within the circle. In a sense, he still needs to rely on people of their class.

But now, Li Xuan himself has reached this position.
He himself has the 'freedom' to control his own resources.

Although Huayi may not always listen to Li Xuan.

But Li Xuan did achieve the goal of 'possessing'.

“Fear is normal.” Liu Lili saw Cai Yulong’s fear.

The prerequisite for being able to remain calm and composed is being able to control the situation.

This thing no longer exists.

Because Li Xuan has already arrived at this position.

It is no longer a position that can be dominated.

"So you came all this way to talk to me about this?"

“I’m here to apologize to you,” Cai Yulong said after a pause, “because I choose to respect my own interests.”

"He's so talented, so exceptional that he can use his astonishing talent to get what he wants in both television and film."

“I’m scared. He’s also developing his own career in the TV drama industry, and he’s targeting the same young audience as Tangren. He’s eroding my base.”

"Moreover, his talent is so amazing that I have never seen anyone with such extraordinary talent."

At this moment, Liu Lili looked at Cai Yulong, who was heavily made up, had a pretty face, and a certain aura, as if she had returned to the time when they first met.

At that time, she had just started her business, full of enthusiasm and ambition.

To break into this huge market as a woman.

Admirable.

They were not without suppression during that period.

She would say such things back then.

Are these old masters afraid of me, which is why they dare not confront me directly? Those decadent fellows simply don't understand what true art is.

They only know how to use underhanded tactics.

Do you use resources to pressure yourself?
I'm not afraid of them!
But times have changed.

Cai Yulong gradually transformed into the demeanor of an elder statesman.

When Tangren Media became a leading enterprise.

When it truly and thoroughly becomes the hegemon of a niche market.

She was just like the older generation back then.

It was only after a long while that Liu Lili spoke.

"you've changed."

“Indeed, I have changed.” Cai Yulong’s eyes shifted and flickered. “But that’s how people are. They change. Didn’t the guy who once drank a knife to his death, living up to his youthful ideals, later betray his own dreams?”

"If Li Xuan really sits in the highest position and can completely control Huayi Brothers, he will make the same choice as us when he encounters a successor."

With that, Cai Yulong downed the red wine in one gulp and stood up.

"Therefore, I will give Zhang Mouzi my full support this time."

He doesn't need your help.

"This expresses an attitude, an attitude that we are now on a united front."

Zhang Yimou remains the number one in the world.

Tangren Media, on the other hand, has steadfastly maintained its focus on period dramas and idol dramas.

At this moment, Han Ping, who was at home observing the trends of the next release period, was carefully looking at the upcoming data.

The completion of filming for "The Great Wall" and "Interstellar" has attracted much attention.

However, negative news about *Interstellar* followed one after another. Hard science fiction—

A genre of works that could never be produced in China.

In Han Ping's living room, a huge 24-inch TCL color TV screen is playing the most-watched variety show in China—"Happy Camp".

The cheerful music, the flashing lights, and the increasingly loud screams from the young audience created a typical scene of an entertainment extravaganza.

However, Han Ping's expression showed no smile. He simply watched calmly as the cigarette between his fingers burned down to half its original length.

On the screen, a game segment called "Movie Terminology Challenge" is in progress.

Several popular hosts, along with two rising stars from Shanghai's entertainment circle, were racking their brains over a cue card.

"Oh my, I recognize this word!" He Jiong, the male host known for his wit and sharp tongue, pointed to the words "hard science fiction" on the screen with an exaggerated expression.

"Teacher He, tell me quickly, what is this?" A young female host next to her blinked her innocent big eyes, playing the role of "straight man" perfectly.

“It’s hard science fiction,” Teacher He cleared his throat and said in a serious teaching tone, “It’s the kind of thing where… before you watch the movie, you have to read ‘A Brief History of Time’ three times, and after you watch the movie, you have to write an 800-word review about the ‘gravitational slingshot effect’ and ‘multidimensional space theory,’ otherwise you’d be embarrassed to tell people you’ve seen it.”

"Oh dear, who understands what you're saying!"

"Hard, really hard~~~"

The audience burst into laughter.

A male host known for his comedic antics immediately chimed in, making an exaggerated dozing gesture: "Good heavens, I went to the movies this weekend to relax, not to go back for final exams!"

"Yeah, yeah!" One of the popular young male guests, with his flawless face, gave the camera a cute expression. "I just want to watch handsome men and beautiful women fall in love, preferably with some lighthearted and funny scenes. It would be so great to watch it and feel happy!"

His words immediately drew enthusiastic screams and cheers from the fans in the audience.

Immediately afterwards, the program team thoughtfully displayed two comparison images on the big screen.

On the left is a concept art leaked from Li Xuan's "Interstellar"—a complex black hole model in the deep, dark universe, with densely packed physical formulas labeled next to it.

On the right is a still from another romantic comedy from the same period—the male and female leads gazing sweetly at each other on a sunny beach.

Teacher He pointed to the screen and asked in his highly persuasive voice, "Come on, audience members, tell us, which side would you rather choose on Saturday night?"

"Right side!" A unified, almost roof-lifting shout rang out from the stands.

Throughout the entire event, Li Xuan's name was never mentioned, nor was the title of the film "Interstellar" mentioned.

"Boring," "boring," "incomprehensible," "anti-entertainment"

"Unhappy"

The underlying messages conveyed in these variety shows.

Even Han Ping could see it.

Han Ping stubbed out his cigarette and tossed the remote control onto the coffee table with a soft thud.

Who is behind the producers of this show? And which circles are these hosts and guests connected to?

The Shanghai entertainment circle has also entered the fray.

Using variety shows to promote their work is something that the Shanghai entertainment circle excels at.
In variety shows, no one in the entire country can outdo those from Zhejiang and Shanghai.

By using a nationally popular variety show in a "joking" and "down-to-earth" manner, a seed of psychological suggestion was subtly planted in advance among hundreds of millions of ordinary viewers: that kind of movie will be very bad, very boring, not worth your money, and you should not follow your own "aesthetics" to watch some truly "youthful" things.

This is even more terrifying than direct negative news.

It nourishes things silently
People are resistant to negative articles, but few people are wary of a joke.

"A drastic measure..." Han Ping muttered to himself, "It seems Li Xuan has taken a bite out of many people's interests."

Because what Li Xuan is doing is not just making a movie to challenge Zhang Yimou's status, he is challenging the "unspoken rules" of the entire industry that have existed for decades.

Interstellar has actually garnered a lot of attention. After all, Li Xuan's talent is so amazing that even if he chose a subject with hellish difficulty, Li Xuan is still Li Xuan.

People in the industry will definitely still be thinking about 'squeezing' some people in.

just in case.

What if this hard science fiction actually becomes hard?
That would be a huge profit.

Han Ping's mind drifted to the ecosystem within the industry over the past few years.

What is it? It's "supporting the actor".

It's capital, connections, and circles that take a liking to a newcomer, then tailor-make a TV series or a movie specifically for them, using the best resources to promote and nurture them.

The quality of the work is sometimes secondary; the core objective is to make the "star" famous.

An actor is a "product" that needs to be managed and packaged.

The entire industry revolves around this ecosystem of "resource-rich individuals".

But what about Li Xuan?

He only selected people based on their talent.

He cast Gao Yuanyuan as the leading lady in "Interstellar" because her temperament suited the role.

He would cast Andy Lau as a less likable "villain" with just one phone call, simply because Andy Lau was suitable for the role.
In his film crew, no one was there to "gild their resume" or to be "squeezed" in through connections.

The only standard is whether you are suitable and whether your talent matches the role.

Content is king, and talent is the only criterion for promotion.

These eight words represent the most complete subversion of that massive ecosystem that relies on "promoting stars" to maintain its operation.

If Li Xuan's path proves to be correct, and if audiences begin to pay only for high-quality content, then the power of those industry bigwigs who hold resources and connections to "turn lead into gold" will be greatly weakened.

Their expensively packaged "products" will be utterly defeated by Li Xuan's "artworks" that rely solely on the quality of the work itself.

This is why many people oppose Interstellar.

Some veterans from completely unrelated circles, different circles and companies.

Everyone stood up to support Zhang Yimou's work.

Even though they didn't have a particularly good relationship on a regular basis.

What Li Xuan shook was their very foundation.

Jiang Wen, who was serving tea on the other side, was watching TV and happened to see this scene.

"But isn't promoting people based solely on their talents the most important and correct thing in itself? Why is this correct thing now being targeted?"

"Actually, this wasn't always like this."

Han Ping's expression was complicated.

It was different when all kinds of flowers were blooming at the beginning.

They're completely different.

(End of this chapter)