This director lacks vision.

Chapter 256 A Magical World – Wang Sicong and Fan Bingbing Praise Each Other
On November 16, 2011, the 7th episode of Sisters Who Make Waves aired.

The champion of this competition is Shu Chang's group.

Their group, with Fan Bingbing as the core of the dance and Gong Linna as the core of the singing, performed the theme song of "The New Legend of Wu Zetian" - "Watching from the Wall".

The 101 girl group sang this ancient-style song fairly well after the recording studio's audio editing.

But when sung by a singer like Gong Lin, it has a completely different charm.

Gong Linna's voice is perfect for this song; she sang out the sword fights and the passage of time in the song.

Coupled with Fan Bingbing's portrayal of Wu Zetian, the song was performed almost perfectly on stage, earning the highest score of the night.

With the airing of "Sisters Who Make Waves," the song "Watching from the Sidelines" began to gain popularity.

In 2011, songs with a traditional Chinese style, such as "Watching from the Wall," were still relatively rare.

Everyone found it quite novel after hearing it.

With the added promotion of the 101 girl group version, the song quickly became a hit.

Along with the popularity of the "wall-viewing" phenomenon, the drama "The New Legend of Wu Zetian" has also attracted more attention.

On November 20th, the trailer for the new Legend of Wuzhao was released.

Through this trailer, viewers learned that Zhou Qin, the female lead played by Fan Bingbing, is a time traveler from the modern era who actually travels into the body of Empress Wu Zetian.

The plot of a modern person transmigrating into the body of the only female emperor in China instantly attracted a large audience.

Especially female viewers.

Regardless of gender, everyone is a potential history buff and has their own favorite historical figures.

From a male perspective, the most charismatic emperors throughout history are powerful rulers like Qin Shi Huang, Li Shimin, and Zhu Yuanzhang.

However, from a female perspective, Wu Zetian, the only female emperor, is undoubtedly the pinnacle of history.

This is why, despite the numerous films and television dramas already produced about Wu Zetian, they continue to be remade.

Because female viewers love watching, Wu Zetian will always have a market.

Of course, the trailer for the new Legend of Wu Zetian also attracted many male viewers.

On the one hand, the makeup and background in the trailer look very high-quality, clearly indicating a high-quality historical drama;

On the other hand, the drama showcases the open-mindedness of the Tang Dynasty.

The woman's strapless bra was very white and large, arousing a strong desire to explore it.

Even male viewers have to offer some criticism of such a good show.

In just two days, the trailer for the new Legend of Wu Zetian has been viewed over ten million times, demonstrating a very good promotional effect.

On the evening of November 22, Jiang Yifeng and Fan Bingbing participated in a live online interview with Sohu Entertainment.

During the program, Jiang Yifeng talked about the creative motivation behind the new Legend of Wu Zetian.

"Initially, I wanted to make a TV series for Bingbing."

After all, she gave me a lot of face. I just casually called her name, and she came to the Pacific Rim cast to play the second female lead, supporting Jing Tian.

Those familiar with me know that I don't promote people indiscriminately.

After careful consideration, I found that some of Fan Bingbing's experiences were very similar to those of Wu Zetian.

Wu Zetian entered the palace as a concubine, and after experiencing ups and downs, she seized the opportunity to ascend to the throne.

Fan Bingbing started out playing supporting roles and worked her way up in the entertainment industry for many years before becoming a top-tier actress.

Moreover, the Tang Dynasty valued plumpness as beauty, and Fan Bingbing was a plump beauty.

Her appearance was both alluring and charming, and the title "Meiniang" suited her perfectly.

I would call Fan Bingbing the chosen Wu Zetian.

"Then why didn't you direct this show yourself?"

“Besides me, our company has many other excellent directors. Yin Tao is very good at period dramas, so he is the most suitable person to direct this drama.”

……

Following this interview, Fengxing Media and Fan Bingbing Studio joined forces, and press releases about "Fan Bingbing's Chosen Wu Zetian" were everywhere, bringing renewed attention to the new Wu Zetian Legend.

On November 24th, amidst much anticipation, the new Legend of Wuzhao officially launched on Sohu Video, releasing the first and second episodes.

After the first two episodes aired, the reviews were polarized.

Some viewers found the show very enjoyable, with a strong sense of immersion, a lighthearted plot, and the quality of a serious drama, but without the dullness of typical serious dramas. It was a comfortable and addictive watch.

Another group of viewers complained that the female lead had too many inner monologues, the narration was distracting, the series was somewhat padded, and the pacing was not tight enough, all of which made the series less high-quality, which was a pity given the excellent makeup and costumes.
The comments from Weibo influencer "Film and Television Connect" represent the sentiments of many people.

"The new Legend of Wu Zetian is first-class in terms of both script concept and costume design."

Unfortunately, this drama was not directed by Jiang Yifeng, which was a waste of his creativity.

Yin Tao has some talent, but he is far inferior to Jiang Yifeng, which makes the plot of the drama drag and the pace slow.

The female lead's inner monologue, in particular, is like a bowl of rat droppings being served at a fine feast, ruining the entire meal!

What this influential blogger said makes sense. If Jiang Yifeng were to direct a new version of "Legend of Wu Zetian," the narration would be improved, the entire series would only have a maximum of 30 episodes, and the pace would be very fast.

That's because Jiang Yifeng has the resources to do this in order to pursue quality and system rewards.

Yin Tao doesn't have Jiang Yifeng's resources, so he still has to consider costs and benefits when making dramas.

The new Legend of Wu Zetian has 60 episodes and can be broadcast for nearly two months. Long-running dramas are extremely beneficial in terms of both advertising revenue and platform user acquisition.

Although the quality of this series isn't top-notch after the number of episodes was extended, its main selling point is its large quantity, allowing viewers to enjoy it all at once.

Moreover, the new Wuzhao Legend is not bad either; its overall quality is still at a level of seven or eight out of ten.

The more people criticize it online, the more popular the new Legend of Wu Zetian becomes.

The average number of views per episode in the first week exceeded 2000 million, and it is moving toward the 3000 million mark.

The related topics are also very popular.

Seeing this, Fan Bingbing was genuinely happy; she had already felt the power of a hit drama.

She's been marketing herself for so long, all she's missing is this one blockbuster role!

The Chosen One, Wu Zetian, will become her signature work, helping her to solidify the superficial popularity she has gained through hype.

Fan Bingbing was so excited that she even took the opportunity to "repay" Jiang Yifeng during the recording of Sisters Who Make Waves by playing some exciting environmental games.

Jiang Yifeng was also very happy, after all, many hands make light work.

The development of a company cannot rely solely on Jiang Yifeng.

The success of "Love is Not Blind" proves that Fengxing Media has other film directors; the popularity of "The New Legend of Wu Zetian" proves that Fengxing Media has other TV series directors.

From the perspective of the capital market, this is a success of Fengxing Media's "director matrix" and a sign that Fengxing Media is becoming increasingly mature and stable in content production.

With multiple positive factors combined, the institutional investment shares of Fengxing Media before its listing were snapped up.

The company has finalized its plans and will go public on December 21.

This timing coincided with the day before the release of Lost in Thailand.

In Wen Lingfeng's words, with the unexpectedly high box office of "Love is Not Blind," the hit second season of "Sisters Who Make Waves," the huge success of the second album by the girl group Produce 101, and the success of "The Legend of Wu Zetian," Fengxing Media already has enough good news.

The movie "Lost in Thailand" will be released after the company goes public, serving as a congratulatory gift for Fengxing Media's IPO.

Jiang Yifeng had no objections. After finishing the publicity for the new Legend of Wuzhao, he shifted his focus to Lost in Thailand.

Jiang Yifeng originally planned to record several programs to promote the movie in a traditional way.

I didn’t expect that man proposes, God disposes.

On the evening of December 2nd, a week after the new Legend of Wu Zetian aired, Wang Sicong actually got into an online argument with someone because of the show.

It all started with a Weibo post by Wang Sicong.

"The new Legend of Wu Zetian is very good. I don't understand the mentality of people who criticize this show online."

Isn't the point of watching dramas to have some fun?

I can get into this show and enjoy it, and that's enough.

Without the female lead's inner monologues and narration, this show would be much less entertaining.

Also, I should mention that Fan Bingbing's performance was truly excellent. After watching her portrayal of Wu Zetian, I became a fan.

Wang Sicong genuinely watched the new Legend of Wu Zetian and found it very novel and enjoyable. Coupled with his connection to Jiang Yifeng, he specifically posted on Weibo to praise it.

He is now a top-tier internet celebrity on Weibo, with over ten million followers.

The new Legend of Wu Zetian was already highly controversial, with mixed reviews. Wang Sicong's Weibo post quickly sparked even greater controversy.

Weibo influencer "Film and Television Connect" reposted and commented on Wang Sicong's Weibo post: "If you have unique tastes and like to eat shit, I won't laugh at you;
But if you eat shit and then smugly boast about it, forcing everyone to admit that shit tastes good, then that's wrong of you.

Wang Sicong has a fiery temper, and he couldn't stand it, so he immediately started arguing with this influential blogger.

"Film and Television Connect" continues to retaliate, attracting a large audience to watch the drama unfold.

Other influential figures also joined in after seeing the trending topic, arguing with Wang Sicong.

Seeing that Wang Sicong was outnumbered, Fan Bingbing also stepped forward and posted on Weibo.

"Thank you @Wang Sicong for liking the new Legend of Wu Zetian. You are also a very professional actor. I was on the set of Lost in Thailand and heard everyone praising your acting skills. I look forward to the release of Lost in Thailand!"

Fan Bingbing's words both sided with Wang Sicong and promoted Lost in Thailand, demonstrating her high emotional intelligence.

However, he was ridiculed by other influential figures.

"Wang Sicong is a professional actor? That's utterly ridiculous."

"No wonder Wang Sicong praised the new Legend of Wu Zetian. He's in cahoots with Fan Bingbing, isn't he? They're both blatant liars!"

"Is this the legendary mutual praise among businesses? This is truly eye-opening. What acting skills does Wang Sicong have? If the entire Lost in Thailand crew is praising him, then I have serious doubts about the quality of the movie."

Although Wang Sicong had previously posted on Weibo that Jiang Yifeng was good at training male actors, and was teased by many netizens who were looking forward to his natural performance.

However, the online buzz dissipated quickly, and many netizens have forgotten about it.

Moreover, in everyone's impression, Wang Sicong is just a rich second-generation who loves to spout nonsense; what acting skills could he possibly have?

Suddenly, even more people were mocking Wang Sicong online.

Fan Bingbing's good intentions backfired this time.

It can't be said to be entirely a bad thing.

At least everyone is discussing Wang Sicong's acting skills, and the popularity of Lost in Thailand is even higher.

Jiang Yifeng only saw the online feud on Weibo when he was having a late-night snack with Li Xiaoran after recording Happy Camp in Changsha.

He saw Wang Sicong and Fan Bingbing praising each other on Weibo and felt that the world was very magical.

In their past lives, these two had a huge online argument.

Although the whole thing is a bit surreal, it's definitely a good selling point.

After thinking it over, Jiang Yifeng decided to go with the flow.

At 10:12 AM on December 4th, Fengxing Media officially released a video.

The video is full of praise for Wang Sicong.

Huang Bai: "Wang Sicong's performance shocked me. I have never seen anyone act so realistically and naturally."

Wang Baoqiang: "Everyone says I have a lot of talent for acting, but compared to Wang Sicong, I'm nothing."

Xu Zheng: "Wang Sicong acts very wildly. He completely immerses himself in his emotions, especially when he's hitting someone."

I was really scared when he hit me that day. I was worried he wouldn't be able to control himself and would cripple me!

Chen Sicheng: "Wang Sicong's performance was beyond our expectations. I think he was the best performer in the entire cast, even surpassing the three powerful actors Huang Bai, Wang Baoqiang and Xu Zheng."

Jiang Yifeng: "In my eyes, there is actually no concept of acting skills."

Every character is vivid and alive; they are real people who exist in the world of the script.

In the movie "Lost in Thailand," Wang Sicong's performance lived up to his role; he created a realistic and vivid character, making him the best actor in the crew.

This series of praises, not only confirmed by the Best Actor award winner, but also by the renowned director Jiang Yifeng, completely validated Fan Bingbing's Weibo post.

Wang Sicong delivered a phenomenal performance in Lost in Thailand, and the entire Lost in Thailand crew praised him.

Seeing this, Wang Sicong was very pleased and posted another Weibo post.

"I may not be a professional actor, but my performance in Lost in Thailand was absolutely professional."

As I mentioned before, this is thanks to the guidance of director Jiang Yifeng.

But I must say, I do have some talent for acting.

"All those who doubt me, you'll be shut up after 'Lost in Thailand' is released!"

Seeing this, everyone's curiosity was piqued.

Is Wang Sicong, this rich second-generation, really a genius at acting?

(End of this chapter)