2001 Media Godfather

Chapter 99 Explosive acting skills
Please keep an eye on our new work, "You Are My Glory"!

Upon hearing Su Manqing's words, the entire room froze, and even the air fell silent for a few seconds.

Many people didn't even realize it, thinking, "Oh, so Su Manqing's next project is 'Glory'!"

Then it dawned on me, "What the heck!? 'Glory'... Su Manqing plays Glory?"

The flashes of the spotlight were blinding.

The reporters surged forward like madmen, shouting, "Manqing! You've never acted in a TV series before!"

Su Manqing: "There's a first time for everything."

Having finished speaking, Su Manqing had completed her mission, taken over the baton of public opinion, and joined Chu An, who thoughtfully took on the role of bodyguard.

He was as smug as could be, shouting, "Make way, make way!"

They escorted Su Manqing to the car.

As the reporters caught a glimpse of Lu Mingze in the driver's seat during the brief opening of the door, they immediately erupted into another frenzy, snapping photos incessantly.

Before the next day even arrived, several major news portals had their front-page headlines reporting on Su Manqing's return to China to star in "You Are My Glory".

The accompanying photo shows Chu An escorting her into the car, with Lu Mingze personally at the wheel.

The title is even more eye-catching: [The mystery of "Glory" revealed! Su Manqing's screen debut is dedicated to a mainstream film]

The news instantly went viral online.

To the netizens' utter surprise, the actress who replaced Xu Shu was Su Manqing, a double Best Actress winner at Venice and Berlin Film Festival.

"Can anyone tell me what's going on? How come that guy surnamed Chu always has such good luck!?"

"That guy surnamed Chu is really going too far. He debuted with Xu Shu, and his second film is with Su Manqing! If he keeps going like this, no actress will be able to overshadow him in the next film."

Many people were surprised, but many others felt it was only natural.

"Only mainstream dramas can get Su Manqing to agree to this, right?"

"It's clearly a task assigned by the relevant departments. What does it have to do with this guy surnamed Chu?"

"It's a pity. I was really looking forward to seeing Su's performance in the TV series, but it just happens to be a boring patriotic drama."

Unlike in later years, patriotic films can be made to look great these days.

It's basically all about being great, glorious, and righteous! Although there are some brilliant moments, it all follows the same formula, and people are already tired of it and have no expectations.

At this time, Su Manqing checked into the hotel, took a nice shower, and then invited Chu An and Lao Lu to her room for a brief meeting.

Basically, Lao Lu briefly explained the shooting plan and listened to Su Manqing's needs on set.

While hugging her laptop and reading online comments, Su Manqing listened to Lao Lu's rambling.

He would occasionally burst into laughter at the comments from netizens.

Finally, I sincerely exclaimed, "Teacher Chu, you really have no ulterior motives at all; you're too good at scheming."

She glanced up at Chu An, who was charming and playful.

"How do you know that netizens will discuss topics related to the mainstream ideology?"

"Now the whole internet is talking about it, and the topic has shifted from the original Green Field Company and Xu Shu being replaced to the main theme of boredom."

During this time, although Su Manqing was abroad, she kept a close eye on the progress of Chu An's activities in China.

Of course I knew that even before filming started, the public opinion was already incredibly heated.

Okay!! Actually, it wasn't just Su Manqing who was paying attention; Cage and Sophia were even more concerned than Su Manqing.
Don't forget, Chu An not only wrote the script for "Heart Fire," but also came up with the ideas for the later publicity strategy and the Cannes public relations.

Now they are all eager to know just how good Chu An's public relations skills are.

As for sensory experience... well, before Su Manqing returned to China, both Nicolas Cage and Sophia were amazed by Chu An's beauty.

In Cage's own words: "Sue! Let that guy come to Hollywood! He can make a fortune in PR!"

They're really good at stirring things up.
In short, Goddess Su highly recognized Chu An's public relations skills, but she couldn't understand why.
How come public opinion seems to be controlled by Chu? He can steer it in whichever direction he wants?
Logically speaking, once the news of Su Manqing's role in Glory came out, all the previous controversies, including replacing Xu Shu and Green Field Company's lawsuit against Chu An for fraud, became invalid.

Although Xu Shu was very popular, the public had absolutely no complaints about her being replaced by Su Manqing, as the two were not on the same level.

Moreover, Xu Shu had previously explained that she gave up the role for her studies and that she was very impressed with the person who took over.

As for Xiang Lintao from Green Field Company, with Su Manqing playing the role, what the hell are you still making a fuss about? Just be happy about it!
In other words, this current media frenzy should come to an end.

But netizens, contrary to expectations, steered the conversation back to the mainstream narrative.

Everyone lamented that Su Manqing's screen debut was a boring mainstream drama.

In reality, this film is anything but boring; it's the kind of "non-mainstream mainstream" film that no one would have expected.

It's foreseeable that this discussion sparked by Su Manqing has laid the groundwork for the series' release. When it premieres on CCTV, it's expected to ignite another wave of public debate.

"That's strange, how come you're so lucky?"

结果
Chu An remained silent, but Old Lu sneered and said something that left Su Manqing speechless, "What's so strange? They paid for it, so of course they can lead us wherever they want!"

After saying that, he couldn't help but glance at Chu An, whom Teacher Chu called an online troll army.

A comment costs 5 cents, and a like costs 8 cents.
It only cost a few hundred thousand in total, it was such a bargain!

Su Manqing, “.”

Chu An, the person involved, remained completely calm and composed, even putting on a serious and profound act.

But in my heart I thought: Isn't this normal? If we're talking about the internet over the next twenty years, what will be the most useful thing?

It's not Meituan, it's not JD.com, it's just paid online trolls. In this era where netizens are completely defenseless, resorting to such a powerful tactic is simply...unbelievable.
The three continued their meeting. After briefly explaining the filming plan, Lu Mingze politely asked Su Manqing, "Does Teacher Su have any special requests?"

Special requests? Su Manqing frowned and thought for a moment, and then made a few seemingly excessive requests: "Give me a private dressing room and a dedicated passage."

"In addition, except for designated media visit days, reporters and fans are not allowed to enter the film set."

Upon hearing this, Lu Mingze asked, "That's it?"

Su Manqing: "That's all."

Old Lu exclaimed, "Teacher Su is such a nice person, so easygoing!"

To outsiders, Su Manqing's demands were very demanding, and she even seemed to be acting like a diva.

First, a separate dressing room and a dedicated passageway.
What might be difficult to understand here is the "dedicated channel".

What does that mean?

The rule is that no one else can appear on the way Su Manqing arrives at the film set, from the moment she gets out of the car until she enters the dressing room.

Isn't that absurd? Actually, it's perfectly reasonable. You just need to put yourself in their shoes.

Given Su Manqing's fame, if she were to sit in the public dressing room or take the same route as the rest of the crew to enter, it would be a good thing.

She doesn't have to do anything else all day, whether it's extras, actors, crew members, fans who sneak in, or moviegoers asking for photos and autographs.

The key question is, if fans rush up to her asking for photos and autographs, will she give them to them? If she doesn't, won't it become a scandal if word gets out?
But those peripheral actors and extras, when they come up to take photos, it's for real benefit—to have more opportunities in this industry. Do you think we should give in?

If you refuse, people will say you're aloof and arrogant; if you don't refuse, it will delay important matters.

Therefore, rules and standards are often determined based on the actual situation.

To the general public, this appears to be an act of arrogance, but the actual situation is not what everyone thinks.

The same logic applies to refusing visits from reporters outside of media days.

This also precisely reflects Su Manqing's professionalism and her unwillingness to be distracted by trivial matters during her performance.

Lao Lu: "No problem! We can definitely meet this requirement!"

As they spoke, Lao Lu and Chu An stood up. "Well then, Teacher Su, please rest first. We'll start filming the day after tomorrow!"

As soon as Lao Lu and Chu An came out of Su Manqing's place, they were surrounded by Ji Yinglai and his group.

"Wow! It really is Teacher Su!?" Ji Yinglai felt dizzy. Following Lao Lu and Chu An, things are really getting better and better.
Even Su Manqing has the opportunity to cooperate.

Dong Wende was also rubbing his head, his hair thinning more and more with each rub, almost as thin as Lu Mingze's.

"This is such a huge thing, and you two have kept it a secret until now? Do you even have any humanity left?"

Previously, Lao Dong was quite resentful towards Lu Mingze and Chu An, thinking they didn't consider us as one of their own.

The female lead is hiding something!
Now that she saw Su Manqing, she was even angrier. "You should have said so earlier!! If you had said so earlier, I would have prepared earlier. I've never filmed a scene with a cinematic feel before!"

Lu Mingze and Chu An exchanged a glance and smiled.

Well, how should I put it? You're saying this circle doesn't follow celebrities? Well, it depends on the person.

Superstars like Teacher Su are people that TV drama actors have to look up to.

Now, Lu Mingze adopted a serious demeanor and ordered everyone, "What's all the fuss about?! Get back to work! We'll have opportunities to work with even bigger stars in the future!"

Everyone scoffed, and Old Dong showed no mercy to Lu Mingze, saying, "You're just bragging!! Bigger? Where are you going to find someone like that!?"

Su Manqing's career in the country has reached its limit. To become a bigger star, one would have to be a Hollywood superstar.

Hollywood stars come here to film TV series?
As Chu An had planned, Su Manqing's involvement sparked a media frenzy, and traditional media quickly followed suit after the initial online reports.

Moreover, this time, both the level of discussion and attention is much higher than before.

It is foreseeable that this will continue for a considerable period of time.

In this atmosphere, filming for "You Are My Glory" quietly began.

Unlike the excitement outside, the production team kept a low profile, and Lu Mingze didn't even allow the media to visit the set.

The reason is simple: Chu An wanted to create a misunderstanding in the public opinion, making everyone think that "You Are My Glory" is a typical, traditional patriotic drama.

The deeper the public's misunderstanding, the better the dissemination effect when "Glory" breaks the stereotype of mainstream ideology.

"Scene 1! First shot! Five minutes to prepare!"

A gentle breeze was blowing along the Huangpu River at night.
Su Manqing, dressed in a light pink turtleneck sweater, tight jeans, and a playful snow hat, leisurely circled around Chu An.

"Don't be nervous, Teacher Chu. I'm very accommodating, especially to partners with poor acting skills!"

Chu An, wearing Yu Tu's signature long black trench coat, was having her makeup touched up by a makeup artist.

It makes me so angry!
She glanced at Su Manqing unhappily, "Mind your own business! I'll definitely be fine!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Old Lu walked over with his hands behind his back, saying, "Don't worry, Teacher Chu!! We'll only film this one scene tonight!"

"You can NG anytime!"

Chu An: "."

Over there, Dong Wende and his assistant were carrying boxes of 35mm film and piling them next to the camera.

His old face beamed like a chrysanthemum as he called out, "Teacher Su, you're so lucky!! I'll make sure you look beautiful in the photos!"

Then he looked at Chu An, "Chu Shikuai! See? I prepared a set of blank films for you. Let's try to break the record!"

Chu An's face turned green. You guys did this on purpose, didn't you?!

My acting skills have improved dramatically, I'm quite confident, okay?

He stubbornly growled at Su Manqing, "Don't listen to them, they're all bad news!"

To be honest, Su Manqing was a little worried about the atmosphere on set, after all, Lu Mingze had a reputation as a tyrant on set.

I really didn't expect things to get along so well.

You can vaguely sense that this team has already developed a very good rapport.

Chao Chu'an smirked mischievously, "What's this record that Teacher Dong mentioned?"

Chu An, "Well..."

He didn't want to talk about it, so he said, "Ask something else."

Just then, Ma Lan walked by and stuck her head out to slap him, saying, "78 times, it took two days to film."

Su Manqing was shocked, "Two days? One shot?"

Chu An wanted to disappear into a crack in the ground.

Today we only filmed one scene: Qiao Jingjing and Yu Tu reunite and stroll along the riverbank together, with Qiao Jingjing asking Yu Tu to be her game coach.

Well, in this scene, Chu An is basically just a background character with few lines; it's mostly up to Su Manqing's performance.

It booted up quickly.

The two figures are depicted in the painting, walking side by side along the riverbank.

Lu Mingze stared intently at the monitor, initially focusing on Su Manqing.

After all, Su Manqing has a lot of lines, and the plot is that Qiao Jingjing keeps talking while Yu Tu passively responds.

Of course, the main reason why Lao Lu paid attention to Teacher Su was that this was the first shot he took of Su Manqing, which was of commemorative significance.

But as he continued filming, Lu Mingze couldn't help but shift his attention back to Chu An, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

After a long pause, she couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Has the progress really been that great?"

Chu An's acting was very natural, unlike his performance in "With You," where he was either exaggerated and overacting, or simply playing himself.

At this moment, he was the quiet, studious Yu Tu, with the reserve and awkwardness of a science and engineering student, and the unease and caution he felt when facing the big star Qiao Jingjing.

What gave Lu Mingze even more fright was...
Chu An gave him a single glance!

He accompanied Qiao Jingjing on her walk, attentively responding to her chatter, occasionally glancing at the Huangpu River in the night.

There was a hint of confusion and bitterness in his eyes, as if he had lost touch with the present situation.

"He's the one acting?!"

Old Lu was shocked and somewhat incredulous.

You know, that look was absolutely amazing.

In the storyline, Yu Tu is at a crucial turning point in his life.

On the one hand, one has to abandon their ideals and leave the scientific research career.

On the other hand, one must return to reality and accept the financial industry, which one may not like but can bring in more income.

Yu Tu disliked finance; his heart was set on the stars and the sea. But faced with harsh reality, he had no choice but to bow his head.

Logically speaking, this scene doesn't need to showcase these personal settings and backgrounds.

But it was just that one look that brought the whole scene to life.

Beautiful!
"Click!!"

Old Lu shouted excitedly, "Perfect!! Keep it up, Teacher Chu!"

Dong Wende and the others knew that Chu An had performed well, so they put aside their jokes and applauded Teacher Chu to show their encouragement.

Even Su Manqing was a little surprised.

"I never expected that Teacher Chu would actually have a talent for acting!"

Teacher Chu pressed down on his hand, as if he had just been liberated.

"Calm down! Everyone calm down!! Isn't this normal?"

But in his heart he thought: Damn it!! Who the hell is waving a laser pointer at me from the other side?!
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(End of this chapter)