This actor has something

Chapter 373 Stable
The room was filled with the murmurs of conversation, a cacophony of whispers and discussions, so loud that it created a buzzing, resonant sound.

He Daqi turned around in surprise and found that it was Huang Xiaoming who had grabbed his arm.

It's been a long time since I've seen him. I wonder if he's had skin whitening treatments; he looks much fairer than before.

In the first half of this year, when He Daqi had some free time, he watched two or three episodes of The Return of the Condor Heroes starring Huang Xiaoming on a video website. He couldn't get into it, so he just fast-forwarded and skipped ahead before switching to another TV series.

Back then, Huang Xiaoming's portrayal of Yang Guo in the TV series had a somewhat grayish complexion. It wasn't due to makeup; his skin was simply grayish. Now, however, he's become a fair-skinned young man. It seems he has some kind of whitening secret.

"Brother Xiaoming, it's been a long time."

He Daqi greeted him with a smile, genuinely unaware of when Huang Xiaoming had approached him.

"Long time no see. Speaking of which, I should thank you for helping me promote my TV series in March. However, I've been quite busy this year and haven't had time to ask you out for a meal. I'm spending Chinese New Year in Beijing this year. Daqi, if you're not filming during the Chinese New Year, let's arrange a time to get together."

It was nine months ago that He Daqi helped Huang Xiaoming promote his drama. At that time, Huang Xiaoming called He Daqi to ask for his help. He Daqi just casually forwarded it on his Yabo.com account. He usually wouldn't refuse such a small favor if someone asked him for help. He didn't expect Huang Xiaoming to bring it up specifically.

"Hey! It's such a small thing, just a quick favor, and you're being so polite with me."

He Daqi responded cheerfully, then looked at Huang Xiaoming with a smile, his meaning clear: he didn't want to chat idly.

Didn't you say you had something to do when you grabbed me earlier?

Huang Xiaoming probably noticed that he and He Daqi were standing out in the corridor.

Many passersby pricked up their ears to listen to what the two were talking about, and many reporters invited to the premiere took a few photos.

After a moment's thought, Huang Xiaoming pointed with a subtle smile to a secluded spot nearby and said, "Let's talk over there."

He Daqi nodded, and the two of them followed each other through the gaps in the seats to the corner.

"Daqi, I heard you're planning to make a film called Painted Skin?"

"Yes, we are indeed preparing to film."

Seeing that He Daqi answered so readily, Huang Xiaoming hesitated for a moment before asking, "Then do you know that one of the actresses originally slated for the Painted Skin project in Hong Kong was..."

“I know.” He Daqi interrupted Huang Xiaoming before he could say the name. Meeting Huang Xiaoming’s surprised look, He Daqi continued, “This movie has nothing to do with Hong Kong now. Who to use or not to use will be decided by the director. However, the two female leads you mentioned have already been chosen. If you want to recommend someone, Brother Xiaoming, I can only apologize.”

Who are the two female leads now?

"Zhou Huimin, Zhou Xun."

Huang Xiaoming clicked his tongue, knowing there was no room for negotiation on this matter.

He had originally promised to come and sound out who one of the female leads was. The person who asked him to do so wanted to see if he could pull some strings from other sources to win the role.

Now there's no need to even think about it; He Daqi gave the role to his wife.

What? You still want to compete with Vivian Chow? Aren't you overthinking it...?

As for the other female lead, she's not so easy to snatch. Huang Xiaoming knows a bit more about this project than others. He's friends with Zhou Xun, and he called Zhou Xun before asking He Daqi. Zhou Xun didn't explain it very clearly, but Huang Xiaoming understood.

"Sigh... what a mess this is." Huang Xiaoming shook his head with a wry smile.

"Brother Xiaoming, if you encounter something difficult, you should learn to give up. There's no need to take on everything yourself."

"You're just talking without understanding the situation. Alright, that's all. I'm going to sit down and get ready to watch the movie. By the way, your trailer is really good. I was quite looking forward to it when I saw it online."

"That has little to do with me. It just shows that Ning Hao's editing skills have improved again." He Daqi shrugged.

Watching Huang Xiaoming's departing figure, He Daqi pursed his lips. The relationships in the entertainment industry are really like sweet potato vines, crawling all over the place and hooking up everywhere.

……

The Yung-Hui-Qi-Ming girl group left the stage in high spirits, and one by one they came over with smiles to greet Vivian Chow. They no longer live together and see each other less often, especially the two younger ones, Gulnazar and Dilraba, who haven't seen Vivian Chow for more than half a year. They were so affectionate at the moment.

The two girls didn't let He Daqi sit too comfortably. After nagging Zhou Huimin, they each came over and shook He Daqi's shoulders.

"Brother Daqi, when do you think we'll be able to act in a movie or TV series?"

"That's right. Sister Ya Ya and the others have already filmed several movies, but the two of us can only do commercial performances on weekends or during winter and summer vacations. We've had enough of that."

He Daqi didn't say anything, but pretended to get up and scare the two girls, who then ran away laughing and far away.

Seeing that He Daqi was just bluffing, the two of them moved closer and made a funny face at him, sticking out their tongues and making silly faces, acting a bit disrespectful.

"Alright, alright, there are so many people watching, what kind of behavior is this? If you want to act in movies or movies, go ask Lu Zheng. He's in charge of your business. But the company's policy is that you two won't take on any outside roles before you're eighteen, so you should just focus on your studies."

Liu Ying came over and pinched the two girls' ears, shooing them back to her desk.

"Daqi, you guys have such a good relationship with your artists," Wang Jinghua said with a hint of envy as she watched this scene.

"Kids are just like that, always making a fuss. They won't be as endearing when they get older," He Daqi said with a chuckle.

Wang Jinghua shook her head slightly in disapproval, without saying anything. She wasn't envious of He Daqi and Zhou Huimin's good relationships with artists; she was simply jealous of the girl group Yonghui Qiming.

This group is a regular on the Spring Festival Gala every year. They have been watched by audiences across the country as they grew up. Their fees for commercial performances are getting higher and higher every year, but even so, people are too lazy to accept them.

Vivian Chow hasn't made many public appearances in recent years, so her songs are now mostly sung by the Yung Wai Chi Ming Girls Group. Especially the three members of that group who are now adults, they not only have a constant stream of film offers, but they also frequently get together to hold concerts.

Unfortunately, like father, like son. He Daqi and Zhou Huimin didn't set a good example, causing these young girls to become like a bunch of lazy bums, too lazy to even lift a finger to make money.

Moreover, Ho Tai-kai and Vivian Chow seem to be doing charity work, signing contracts with very low commission rates. Wong Jing-hua even heard that the couple plans to separate the three members of the girl group who have reached adulthood and set up their own studios in a while. It is estimated that they will do the same when the remaining two reach adulthood.

This prevents some talent agencies from poaching artists from their companies. It's obvious that they don't intend to make money from them. What can you do? No one can offer a higher offer than this.

The group chatted for a short while at the first table, and then Ning Hao finished his speech on stage. The curtain rose, and the movie started playing before Ning Hao even stepped off the stage.

The Dragon Emblem is the opening animation of China Film Group and Asia-Pacific Film & Television.

"The seventh year of the Tianqi reign..."

A deep, resonant male voice from behind the scenes began to introduce the historical context.

In the background, officials from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the eunuch faction appear in turn, finally settling on a bright yellow sedan chair.

A eunuch stepped forward and opened the sedan chair, revealing Cheng Long's face covered in putty to the audience.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Why is Jackie Chan's makeup like this?"

"You know what, he really does look like a young man." The audience burst into laughter.

Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne at the age of sixteen. Cheng Long wanted the old man to dress up as a sixteen-year-old, so you can imagine how much putty he applied to his face.

Ning Hao did have some doubts when he was getting his makeup done on set, but He Daqi cheerfully brushed them off.

What? In the future, there will be middle-aged women dressed as sixteen-year-old girls. As long as the post-production is done well, the audience won't be able to tell the difference. So, at this point, our Brother Long can't dress up as a sixteen-year-old boy anymore?

Hearing the laughter from the audience, He Daqi knew he had made the right move.

That's exactly the kind of cross-dressing feeling we're looking for; otherwise, where would the conversation come from?
As the movie continued, Jackie Chan's character, Emperor Chongzhen, performed parkour in the palace, outmaneuvering the assassins and even rescuing the empress, played by Xu Jinglei. He skillfully used various terrains and props to leap and bound through the palace.

This scene took a full twenty days to film, and Jackie Chan thoroughly enjoyed it, designing many challenging action sequences that brought a knowing smile to those familiar with his films and his signature style.

"Investigate it thoroughly for me!"

Having narrowly escaped death after being rescued by the guards, Emperor Chongzhen was furious and slammed his fist on the table, ordering Zhao Jingzhong, played by Zhao Wenzhuo, to do the same.

The scene shifts to several patrol teams on night patrol.

The leader seemed to have sensed something, and ignoring his subordinates' questions, he moved the lantern forward.

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard!!!"

The lantern was thrown on the ground, and the patrol team turned and ran.

The dim light of the streetlights illuminated a corner of the street, and the protagonist, played by He Daqi, slowly emerged from the darkness in his flying fish robe, with a group of imperial guards gradually appearing behind him.

This shot was quite clever; the first person to walk out, He Daqi, gave people a refreshing feeling.

Audience members kept exclaiming in surprise, then quickly shut their mouths and continued watching the movie with rapt attention.

He Daqi turned his head to observe the audience's reaction, chuckled, and turned back.

Aren't you blown away by his handsomeness?
He Daqi suffered quite a bit from the cold while filming in that flying fish costume.

He is quite happy to have gained recognition from the audience.

……

……

When it comes to a competition, there can't be only one company promoting it.

"When My Flower Blooms, All Others Wither" premiered at the Great Hall of the People, while "Curse of the Golden Flower" premiered at the Exhibition Hall.

The atmosphere on both sides was completely different. When Deng Chao appeared in "My Flower Blooms and All Flowers Wither," his line about needing more money made the audience burst into laughter, while the audience on "Curse of the Golden Flower" were grumbling.

It's too dull and the narrative is weak.

In the past, Zhang Yimou's films could still be found to have some artistic value, but this time it's different. In "Curse of the Golden Flower," all you can find are chrysanthemums, golden yellow, and low-cut dresses.

Many people couldn't concentrate on watching it and kept yawning.

What is the plot?
Who wanted to kill whom? How did they end up fighting?
The audience members looked at each other, some of them holding back their thoughts.

Why does it feel like Zhang Yimou is going to have a major mishap this time?

Zhang Yimou's face was ashen; he was an old hand and knew what the audience's reaction meant.

Although he didn't know how things were going with "When My Flowers Bloom, All Others Wither," which also had its premiere today, he was already feeling a bit irritable.

To be honest, Zhang Yimou hates He Daqi quite a bit now, but he hates Zhang Weiping even more.

If he hadn't provoked He Daqi, he wouldn't have any worries now.

If there were no film like He Daqi's "After My Flowers Bloom, All Flowers Kill" to compete with, China Film Group would likely give "Curse of the Golden Flower" the green light to boost box office numbers. This way, even if the film is poorly made, there wouldn't be much loss; at most, it would just lose some reputation.

But! There just happens to be another masterpiece guarding its own position, so this time it might really embarrass itself.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yimou smiled helplessly, his smile tinged with bitterness and melancholy.

He turned his head to look at Chow Yun-fat, shook his head slightly, then looked at Chow Chieh-lun, and shook his head again.

There's not much hope...

Both of these actors were chosen by Zhang Yimou based on Zhang Weiping's advice. Zhang Yimou now only regrets that he was too easily swayed and failed to stick to his principles. He revised the script again and again and lowered his standards repeatedly, resulting in the current film being neither fish nor fowl.

Is this how things are going to continue?

Zhang Yimou was somewhat confused.

The director always had a blank expression, and everyone in the crew had gotten used to it.

But at today's premiere, Zhang Yimou still had that zombie-like face, which gave the cast members a bad feeling.

Gong Li has worked with Zhang Yimou before. Others may not know Zhang Yimou, but she does. She even had a stern face at the premiere, something that had never happened before.

She witnessed Zhang Yimou and Zhang Weiping arguing every day during the filming of "Curse of the Golden Flower," but she didn't expect that after the film was completed, the two showed no signs of reconciliation. They even exchanged a few words when they entered the theater just now.

Is this honest man about to explode after being bullied so badly?

The cast of "Curse of the Golden Flower" were all somewhat subdued, influenced by the director.

No, wait! Chow Yun-fat is actually quite happy!

Most of his salary was paid in advance, and it was negotiated according to Hollywood rates. Regardless of whether the movie made a profit or not, Chow Yun-fat certainly didn't lose money.

He chuckled and ignored the group's gloomy faces, then nudged Zhou Jielun, wanting to talk to him about music.

A movie? What's so interesting about a movie? As the lead actor, surely he knows the plot is incredibly simple?
So let's talk about music instead.

"Jielun, could you send me a copy of Nocturne CD when you have time? I've been listening to this song every day since the beginning of the year, and I've been listening to it until the end of the year. Recently, they haven't been playing this song on the streets anymore, and I really miss it."

"Wow, that's very tasteful..."

"Will you release a new album next year? To be honest, I don't think Chrysanthemum Terrace is that great, but Compendium of Materia Medica is pretty good. Now the streets are filled with Compendium of Materia Medica instead of Nocturne."

"Not necessarily, but I personally think the Compendium of Materia Medica is quite good."

(End of this chapter)