This director lacks vision.

Chapter 166 You guys are too weak

Jiang Yifeng released these press releases to increase the popularity of Dark Glory 2 and promote the web series.

This propaganda tactic is applicable in any country.

Citizens of a country enjoy seeing its own films and television dramas popular or sought after in other countries, conquering their markets and exporting their culture.

China particularly likes this kind of storyline, but there are few successful examples.

The news that Dark Glory 2 sold for a high price has not only increased the show's popularity but also elevated the status of Dark Glory 2 and even the entire web series.

However, Jiang Yifeng did not expect that netizens would start "dig up" the achievements of the first season of Dark Glory.

"Dark Glory Season 1 has accumulated 330 million views on YouTube, with an average of over 20 million views per episode! It is currently ranked #1 in the YouTube Show Theater category!"
It's worth mentioning that YouTube's "Show Theater" series includes over 2000 complete TV dramas.

"The first season of Dark Glory was pirated and broadcast by 21 TV stations in Thailand, and the ratings were quite good. This is a news report from the Thai Daily, the largest local newspaper in Thailand. The screenshot is here, you can see for yourselves."

"Because of the popularity of the first season of Dark Glory, Gao Yuanyuan has become a popular female star in Malaysia. In May, she went to Malaysia to attend a brand event, where the scene was packed with people and was reported by many Malaysian media outlets."

"It's even more outrageous in Japan. Some Japanese fans even said that Yui Aragaki is a mini-Gao Yuanyuan, and that my second wife's smile is not as pretty as my first wife's!"

"That's utter nonsense."

"I'm not making this up. This is a comment from Yahoo! Japan. I've taken a screenshot and translated it. You can see for yourself."

"I'm telling you, you're spouting nonsense and making up all sorts of relationships. Yui Aragaki is clearly my wife, and Gao Yuanyuan is Jiang Yifeng's Avatar. Who do you think you are?"

……

Since Dark Glory 2 won't air for a few more days, netizens got bored while waiting and started looking up the viewership ratings for the first season of Dark Glory.

Do not check, I don’t know, I’m scared.

It turns out that Dark Glory Season 1 was so amazing; it was a real hit overseas, not just something the media hyped up.

More and more information and evidence have been unearthed by netizens.

"Holy crap, Dark Glory is this powerful? Jiang Yifeng is too low-key. I can't imagine how much hype they would have given this show if it were produced by a TV station."

"If it's a TV production, there will be at least several celebration parties, seminars, and award ceremonies. The director and lead actors will be touted as representatives of Chinese cultural export!"

“We didn’t treat Dark Glory unfairly either. At the time, everyone thought this show was on par with American dramas. Liu Yifei even said it surpassed American dramas, which is quite a high praise.”

"There was a trending topic at the time that said Jiang Yifeng was a god who could fight against American TV shows and movies. I even mocked him. I was wrong!"

Things can sometimes turn out in a very strange way.

If you actively promote or boast about it, the audience simply won't believe you.

But when the time was right, and netizens spontaneously and actively conducted archaeological excavations, everyone became convinced of it.

The first season of Dark Glory is just like that.

Jiang Yifeng's promotion of the second season unexpectedly boosted the reputation and star power of the first season.

Many netizens praised Jiang Yifeng while rewatching the first season, causing another significant surge in viewership for the first season of Dark Glory.

Unfortunately, the system's evaluation had already ended, and Jiang Yifeng missed out on the biggest benefit of this wave of views.

Regardless, this wave of publicity for high-priced exports has boosted Dark Glory's popularity and reputation to a new level.

Along with the female lead, Gao Yuanyuan, her popularity and status have subtly increased again.

As for Yang Mi, she was especially excited.

Not only did she participate in events with the film crew, but she also posted stills from the film on Weibo every day, promoting "Dark Glory 2" with great enthusiasm.

Jiang Yifeng did not participate in the film crew's promotional activities.

After returning to Yanjing, he began to arrange the work on Pacific Rim. He first sent Guo Fan and his team to film on location, and then sent Hu Qian to select actors.

Pacific Rim involves a lot of overseas storylines, so some foreign actors are needed.

Furthermore, some actors will be involved in action scenes, so it's important to finalize the casting early and conduct pre-production training.

On the morning of October 23, Jiang Yifeng entered the alien beast photography studio and saw Hu Qian leading three Japanese people on a tour of the studio.

"Mr. Jiang, this is Ms. Oda, the head of Avex's artist department." Seeing Jiang Yifeng enter, Hu Qian took the initiative to introduce, "This beautiful lady is Japanese actress Erika Sawajiri."

Jiang Yifeng's gaze was sharp as he sized up Erika Sawajiri.

This once famous and beautiful young woman in Japan has lost her innocence and energy.

She's only 24 years old, but she gives off a very mature vibe.

"Director Jiang, hello! Please give me your guidance!"

Upon hearing the translator's words, Jiang Yifeng nodded and said, "My production team has very strict requirements. I hope you will be dedicated and professional, and take your acting seriously."

In Japan, almost every national idol is a madman.

Erika Sawajiri was the same; she got married very early after becoming famous.

Her personality changed drastically after marriage, and she was frequently involved in negative news. Finally, during the promotion of the movie "Closed Notebook," she acted like a diva, which led to collective criticism and boycott from the media, and her agency terminated her contract.

But Sawajiri still has popularity, and Avex recognized this, so they are preparing to sign her and help her make a comeback.

Fengxing Media and Avex are now partners. When Pacific Rim was looking for Japanese actresses, Avex recommended Erika Sawajiri.

Jiang Yifeng had no objections.

After Pacific Rim was filmed, they also wanted to sell it to Japan. Erika Sawajiri is very well-known in Japan, and casting her would help sell the film.

Moreover, Sawajiri is currently in a slump, so Jiang Yifeng got lucky.

The only concern is her attitude.

Therefore, Jiang Yifeng immediately set the rules upon arrival.

Erika Sawajiri said "Hai!" and bowed, promising, "Thank you, Director Jiang, for giving me this opportunity. I will definitely prepare diligently and act well!"

After nearly being blacklisted for her diva-like behavior, Erika Sawajiri has learned her lesson and now has a much better attitude after "retiring" for over a year.

Jiang Yifeng chatted with her for a few minutes, and the other actors gradually arrived. Jiang Yifeng ultimately cast Bai Yu as Qin Feng, the male lead in Pacific Rim.

After filming "Dark Glory 2", Bai Yu also signed with Fengxing Media.

Compared to Bai Ke, he has a better overall appearance and is more malleable.

In addition, the second male lead, Wang Xiaoqiang, is the male lead's best friend. He is a bit ugly, but he has practiced martial arts and exercises every day. He is determined to become a mecha pilot.

Wang Baoqiang was cast in this role.

Other supporting actors include Duan Yihong, Wu Jing, Xie Miao, Zhang Guoqiang, Liu Yijun, and Li Chen.

These people have all acted in martial arts dramas or military dramas, received relevant training, and can portray some masculine qualities.

There is also Battier, who was originally an athlete.

As for the female roles, the lead actress is Jing Tian, ​​the second lead actress is Fan Bingbing, the third lead actress is Erika Sawajiri, and some of the supporting roles are played by familiar faces with rich experience.

The web series Pacific Rim has already had an investment of 1.2 million.

There is no way to cut costs further.

Therefore, Jiang Yifeng didn't care about cost-effectiveness when choosing actors.

Fan Bingbing was unaware that she was the second female lead. When she entered the studio and saw that the other actors were already in place, she was quite surprised.

"Director Jiang, I'm just making a cameo appearance, do I need to train beforehand?"

Jiang Yifeng nodded and said very seriously, "Our film has a lot of fight scenes and green screen scenes, so we must train in advance."

To be honest, if I hadn't run into you at dinner the other day, I was planning to invite Li Binbin for a cameo role; her fight scenes are much better.

Jiang Yifeng tried to provoke Fan Bingbing, but Fan Bingbing didn't fall for it.

She said, "Training is fine, but I'm going to the Tokyo International Film Festival in a couple of days, and afterwards I'll be doing promotional work with the 'Sacrifice' crew."

The time available is rather fragmented.

"It's okay, come whenever you have time. The requirements for female roles aren't that high, you can decide for yourself."

Fan Bingbing hesitated for a moment before asking, "Director Jiang, am I really just here for a cameo role?"

Jiang Yifeng nodded and said, "Of course it's a cameo. Gao Yuanyuan played the female lead for me, and I'm just having you play the second female lead. Don't overthink it."

Fan Bingbing: "..."

Realizing she had boarded a "pirate ship," Fan Bingbing wasn't angry.

Since we've decided to help, there's no need to hesitate or look back.

She said, "Then I'll turn down my next film role and focus on acting in Director Jiang's film."

19-year-old Fan Bingbing might still act impulsively and take Qiong Yao to court;
But 29-year-old Fan Bingbing has already gained experience and is relatively mature in her dealings with people.

She was tricked by Jiang Yifeng into playing a supporting role to Jing Tian, ​​and she even had to make a cameo appearance for free. Most female stars would have been furious by now.

She wasn't in a hurry at all, and even seemed to be actively cooperating, which was truly endearing.

Jiang Yifeng nodded and said, "Don't worry, you'll be satisfied with the pay. Our crew has plenty of money."

Looking at the tall and cool mecha models in the studio, Fan Bingbing smiled and said, "I knew it a long time ago. Director Jiang, your web series is definitely even better than Dark Glory. It's an honor to be a part of it."

Jiang Yifeng chose the film studio as the first meeting place for the main actors to establish his authority.

The main cast, including Erika Sawajiri, upon seeing the towering mecha models and advanced filming systems in the studio, naturally understood that Pacific Rim was no joke.

After all the actors arrived, Jiang Yifeng stood in front of everyone.

He glanced at the male actors, shook his head, and said, "You are too weak. Your physical condition does not meet my requirements. You need to practice more."

In the Chinese entertainment industry, male actors with masculine qualities are becoming increasingly rare.

In order to look good on camera, not only actresses are losing weight, but male actors are doing the same.

They were all skinny and lacked any sense of strength.

Wang Baoqiang and Duan Yihong, among other male actors, were handpicked by Jiang Yifeng, but they still aren't quite up to par and need more practice.

Jiang Yifeng wanted to capture not only the imposing presence of the mechs in the many battle scenes in Pacific Rim, but also the powerful presence of the humans.

At the very least, male actors should be able to show off their muscular physique when they take off their shirts, and they should be able to project tension during training and fighting.

Upon hearing Jiang Yifeng's words, Wu Jing was the first to object, and he said loudly, "Director Jiang thinks we're weak? Why don't we practice together?"

Jiang Yifeng smiled broadly upon hearing this.

The chicken meant to be killed as a warning to others has come knocking on our door.

He asked, "How do you plan to practice?"

At this moment, Wu Jing was in a state of excited courtship. Feeling the gazes of the three beauties, Jing Tian, ​​Fan Bingbing, and Erika Sawajiri, he said smugly, "We can compete in strength, endurance, fighting, and muscles!"

Jiang Yifeng nodded, glanced around, and asked, "Anyone else want to compete? Batel, do you want to join in?"

Batel looked at Wu Jing, and Wu Jing happened to look back at him as well.

The two exchanged glances, and Wu Jing sensed something was wrong.

Trying to outmuscle Battier is practically suicide.

Batel misunderstood Jiang Yifeng's meaning.

He thought Jiang Yifeng wanted him to take action and teach Wu Jing, this troublemaker, a lesson, so he nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll have the match with Wu Jing."

"Wu Jing, do you want to compete in strength or hand-to-hand combat?"

Wu Jing: "..."

(End of this chapter)