Huayu: The Best Actor starts with obtaining the role entry

Chapter 191 - Little South Korea is exporting culture!
White Night Studio.

As soon as Bai Ye returned, he saw Lin Wan waiting at the door.

When the filming of "Brotherhood of Blades" wrapped up, Lin Wan learned from her assistant that Bai Ye and she were preparing to return.

Downstairs, her assistant sent her a text message as she came up, so she immediately came to the door.

Lin Wan's face lit up with a wide smile when she saw Bai Ye!

If it's your own artists, then you really don't need to worry about them.

In terms of resources, every time she negotiates for resources that are difficult to obtain, Bai Ye can elevate her status, and then the other party will make concessions.

This also allowed her to negotiate effectively, as the agent's income is tied to the artist's.

Agents often earn commissions, so in order to earn more for themselves, they will put immense pressure on their agents, basically pushing them to the limit.

Of course, the premise is that the artist has to live up to expectations.

Bai Ye is a talented artist.

Pinocchio became a huge hit, and the show eventually achieved a viewership rating of over 7.2% on two channels.

Bai Niu, from Baiye Studio, needs to handle a large number of brand collaboration requests.

Endorsements include various brands such as fashion brands, electronic products, and fast-moving consumer goods.

Nowadays, Lin Wan feels that ever since Pinocchio aired, those fashion brands that used to look down on everyone else have become a thing of the past.

It's obvious that they're now approaching Bai Ye with sincerity.

However, Bai Ye didn't come back, so I couldn't make arrangements for him. Bai Ye was different from other artists; he was not only an artist but also a boss.

Therefore, all business arrangements must wait until Bai Ye returns.

Now that they're back, how can I not be excited?!
"Come on, let's take a look at the offers our studio has received recently. As for scripts, there are some from big-name directors. What do you think?!"

As she spoke, Lin Wan presented Bai Ye with several film offers, as well as some television series offers.

However, there are more movies, especially since the first movie, "White Night," was a success and its popularity has been increasing day by day.

Nowadays, many people are inviting Bai Ye to star in movies.

Having succeeded once, Bai Ye was no longer a newbie in the film industry, and naturally, many big directors invited him to make films.

"The Grandmaster?! Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi? Am I a supporting actor?!"

Bai Ye muttered to himself, "For a blockbuster like this, giving you a supporting role is already a sign of respect in their eyes."

Generally speaking, for someone of my stature who isn't actually involved in the Hong Kong entertainment circle, it's extremely difficult to access such resources.

Why did Yang Mi go to the Hong Kong entertainment circle? Wasn't it just to try and get access to film resources there?!
"What?! You want to act in this?! The director specifically asked for you. If you're interested, you can give it a try, but filming won't start until next year!"

Lin Wan watched as Bai Ye fixed his gaze on the script of "The Grandmaster".

She also thought Bai Ye might like the script?!

After all, acting alongside award-winning actors and actresses, and directed by Wong Kar-wai, it seems quite normal for Bai Ye to play a supporting role, even if it's just a supporting one!

Normally, Bai Ye wouldn't be able to play the lead role.

"Don't go."

"what?!"

Lin Wan opened her mouth, but after hearing Bai Ye's words, she was instantly stunned.

what? !

I must have heard it correctly, right?
Bai Ye is saying she's not going?!

"Sister Lin, I'm not going. Unless it's a script with a lead role, I won't go! And I want to be the lead!"

"."

Lin Wan was silent for a moment, then nodded.

Is Bai Ye starting to fight for top billing now?!
It seems that Bai Ye didn't care at all before. Although he had always been filming his own scripts, he had no right to compete before the studio was established.

There's no need to fight for screenplays; if you're the investor and the male lead, you're guaranteed to be the lead actor.

But Bai Ye didn't say it, and now that she's said it directly, she feels there's no problem.

Ultimately, she felt it would be unfair if Bai Ye didn't fight for it at this point.

I just felt that there were too many big names in this movie, and Bai Ye couldn't compete with them, so I didn't bring it up.

She wouldn't show Bai Ye any movies that invited her to play a supporting role.

The competition for top billing in the entertainment industry has a long history.

Lead actors are considered the core of a work, enjoying greater exposure and honors, which is an affirmation of their acting status by the industry.

Moreover, the lead actor receives the highest salary, along with preferential treatment in resources and the best filming angles.

Actors with higher billing are more likely to get opportunities to work with high-quality projects and production teams, creating a virtuous cycle.

Moreover, in the fan economy, fans tend to regard the order of billing as a symbol of their idol's achievements.

Although the fight over billing order isn't particularly serious these days, it's certainly become an open issue.

Moreover, if a high-ranking work achieves good ratings or box office results, the lead actor is more likely to receive award nominations and industry recognition.

In various awards, it's easier to win an award if you're the lead actor or the second lead actor.

Coupled with the scarcity of high-quality scripts and roles, actors compete for top billing to secure their status and resources.

Rising actors need to prove their abilities by securing high billing, while veteran actors need to maintain their billing to avoid being marginalized.

Given all these interests, there seem to be very few people who can truly resist the urge to fight over billing order.

The films I made later, including "White Night," were mostly self-funded; otherwise, there would definitely have been a fight over who got the top billing.

At this point, Lin Wan naturally agreed to Bai Ye's request.

From now on, the order of billing must be determined; otherwise, I won't act in any roles.

"So you won't even go to shows with big-name directors?! Won't that offend someone?"

Lin Wan asked with some concern, even though Bai Ye's actions were normal.

But if we really make that decision, won't it offend other people, especially a famous director?

“Not accepting them won’t offend them. It’s not like I’m standing them up. Besides, we can’t even finish our own scripts, so how can I take on outside ones?”

The achievement chest I just received gave Bai Ye a lot of scripts.

He currently has so many scripts he can't even finish filming. Unless it's a good script that he'll be the lead actor in, Bai Ye won't take on any more projects.

After all, his current achievement task requires him to achieve a certain level.

Otherwise, wouldn't all this filming have been for nothing?!
"Then there's no need to watch this show. If you were to act in it, you probably wouldn't be able to compete for the top billing."

Lin Wan pulled out one of the scripts, Painted Skin 2.

There's no point in even thinking about this movie; it's packed with big names, so how could they possibly give Bai Ye a chance?

"The script for 'Puberty 2'"

"This script seems to be a youth drama; I just forgot to take it with me."

Lin Wan rubbed her nose and said somewhat embarrassedly.

She had read the script before, and apart from the fact that the female lead's photo was very beautiful, there was nothing else to it.

I doubt Bai Ye would be interested either.

After Bai Ye finished reading all the scripts, Lin Wan asked curiously, "Didn't you like any of them?!"

Judging from Bai Ye's appearance, it seems he hasn't looked at a single script.

Remembering what Bai Ye had just said, she asked, "Do you have other scripts?!" That should be correct; that's exactly what Bai Ye had just said.

"Yes, I have some ideas. Let's talk about it after 'My Love from the Star' is finished filming. I think 'My Love from the Star' will be finished filming ahead of schedule this year!"

Bai Ye nodded. At present, he has plenty of scripts.

Signal, The Lonely and Great God, Goblin, W - Two Worlds, Your Name, Sheep Without a Shepherd, Our Times.

There were a total of six scripts, three movies and three TV series.

I've already booked all the scripts for Bai Ye next year.

So Bai Ye isn't in a hurry at all.

Hearing Bai Ye's words, Lin Wan nodded, somewhat surprised. If this matter were to be exposed, she couldn't even imagine what would happen.

Just this one-star script has already attracted so many people to contact me.

Not to mention there's a script behind it.

This studio feels like it would fall apart without Baiye.

"Since you've made up your mind, I won't interfere with the script anymore. If there are any scripts that I think are suitable, I'll let you know as usual. Whether you accept them or not is up to you."

This is the model they've always used; whether or not Bai Ye accepts the role depends entirely on him.

In any case, for the time being, Baiye has no shortage of scripts.

"Sure, by the way, should we get those autographed photos and small gifts from the studio? I happen to have some time recently."

The production team needs some time to prepare, right? Go talk to Director Lin and let them know we can start. I'll join the crew after I've finished all this."

The small gift I promised my fans when we reached 10 million followers.

I finished part of Baiye, but after joining the Embroidered Spring Blade crew, I didn't have time to finish it.

Now that filming is finished, it's impossible to start filming "My Love from the Star" so quickly; it will definitely take some time to prepare.

I need to finish this while I have the time, so that I don't still don't have time to do it after "My Love from the Star" is finished filming.

"Director Lin has already said that the finished film of 'How Long Will I Love U' has also been sent over. You can take a look. I've also contacted the production team."

By the way, have you ever thought about contacting some brands since you came to "My Love from the Star"?

Many brands contacted me in advance, hoping to have their products featured or be sponsored.

Even before filming for "My Love from the Star" started, many sponsors already wanted to join the project.

After all, it's an idol drama, so it's normal for brands to appear in it.

"Sure, no problem at all. Sister Lin, you can go and make the contact. As long as it's not something too out of place and fits the character, I'll agree!"

Bai Ye's eyes lit up after hearing Lin Wan's words. He could already imagine that he might be able to recoup his investment before filming even started.

While the special effects in "My Love from the Star" are necessary, they aren't excessive; the focus is mainly on the male lead's attempts to look cool.

Bai Ye is not stingy when it comes to special effects; he makes sure to arrange everything related to costumes, makeup, and props for the shoot.

That would be very expensive, especially the special effects.

At this point, product placement could indeed be a great way to recoup losses, even though Baiye's studio is currently not short of money at all.

But who would complain about having too much money?!
Idol dramas are inherently designed to include product placements. With the advertising revenue, Bai Ye can then invest more in special effects, costumes, props, and sets.

"Then I'll contact the advertisers today."

With filming for "My Love from the Star" about to begin, it's natural to need to contact these advertisers.

Within the studio, this resource is given very high priority; Bai Ye has high hopes for this drama.

Lin Wan had also read the script and thought it was pretty good. Aliens falling in love—that was truly a mind-blowing idea.

"One more thing, South Korea, Japan, and many Southeast Asian countries want to buy the copyright to Pinocchio. South Korea has even put forward an offer to buy the rights to remake Pinocchio!"

These two dramas can truly be considered successful in their overseas expansion.

Pinocchio's success wasn't just domestic; it also caught the attention of the Korean entertainment industry.

The novel premise of this drama led Xiao Han to directly propose buying the remake rights, based on their later understanding of Bai Ye.

They also decided to buy the rights to the drama "Someday or One Day".

If this drama were remade, the setting in their country would also be very novel.

"Sell them! These copyright issues are definitely going to be sold, and we'll sell them for the highest possible price. After the sale, we'll definitely give them a huge promotional push!"

This has to be sold!
The Korean wave is currently very strong, with most domestic productions either remaking or purchasing South Korean dramas.

The fact that our own dramas have been bought by South Korea is something that people in China are currently happy to see.

As long as you can sell your goods abroad and make money overseas, your fellow countrymen will naturally praise you to the skies.

Although these scripts of mine... cough.
"That's what I think too. I estimate we can make a lot of money from the copyright aspect, as the second and third rounds of Pinocchio's copyright are very expensive."

Moreover, many satellite TV stations accept multiple broadcasts simultaneously, so it is estimated that it can be sold many times.

correct
I have another issue to discuss, which concerns the copyright of the TV series you've filmed. Tencent, iQiyi, Sohu, LeTV, and Youku have all sent people to inquire about it with me.

Are you interested in selling online copyrights, specifically for a certain number of years?

Since the revision of the Copyright Law in 2010, the copyright of online videos has received increasing attention in recent years.

Nowadays, video websites are paying more and more attention to copyright.

Currently, "White Night" is highly sought after in film and television dramas. White Night Studio currently holds the copyrights to "The Best of Us," "Someday or One Day," and "Pinocchio."

In terms of film, the film and television rights for those years were jointly held by Baiye and Tangren.

Therefore, if we're talking about the three most popular dramas right now, then "Day and Night" is definitely one of them.

"Tencent Video officially launched in April this year. Sohu and Youku are established websites, while iQiyi was founded last April, along with some other video websites."

The conditions offered varied, with Tencent, LeTV, and Sohu offering the most in terms of copyright.

However, all three companies require exclusive online copyright authorization.

As for setting up our own website, I had thought about it before, but I felt it was unrealistic, firstly because we have no internet experience.

For us, the knowledge required for this is zero.

Secondly, our website can't only have your works; we also need to purchase the copyrights of other films and TV series.

So, if we really go down that route, it will be very troublesome later on. I'd prefer to license it for a few years, even if the copyright price might go up in a few years!
In short, licensing the copyright would be more beneficial to us.

All we need to do is produce front-end content and then rely on licensed copyrights; we can make a lot of money later on without having to bear any risks.

Boss, what do you think?!

Lin Wan gave her own answer, stating that she tends to favor delegation.

If I were to set up my own video website, firstly, it would be too late; all the internet companies would have already entered the market.

Secondly, there's the issue of copyright. Many copyrights have already been bought up, leaving few that can be purchased for them.

It would be impossible to sustain this video website solely by relying on its own copyrights.

Fans might support it at first, but later on, without a sufficient video library, non-die-hard fans probably won't keep browsing, and the final result will likely be bankruptcy.

Maintaining such a massive video website copyright library, along with bandwidth, traffic, and other miscellaneous factors, requires significant resources.

The initial investment required is simply too much.

Either partner with an internet video company, or invest some money, take a stake in them, and then license the copyright to them!
Besides, directly establishing a video company is simply unrealistic.

However, Bai Ye hasn't said anything yet; she's only shared her opinion. Lin Wan isn't sure what Bai Ye's final decision will be.

She was waiting for Bai Ye's reply.

(End of this chapter)