This director lacks vision.

Chapter 368 The Unexpected Actor

After reviewing the list of artists, Jiang Yifeng asked Liu Chun, "What do you think is Huanrui's position within Sohu Group?"

This is a big question. Liu Chun thought about it carefully for a while before saying, "Originally, according to President Zhang's idea, introducing Huanrui was to have healthy internal competition with Fengxing Media in order to produce more high-quality content."

Huanrui simply doesn't have that capability, so its current positioning is quite awkward.

Currently, Huanrui can only serve as a supplement to Fengxing Media.

Jiang Yifeng nodded and said, "After all, Huanrui was acquired by Sohu Video for 13.7 billion yuan. This is not a small amount of money, and we can't afford to lose it."

Liu Chun immediately understood Jiang Yifeng's meaning and confirmed, "Mr. Jiang, do you mean to sell Huanrui?"

That's one way to go. Fengxing Media has strong film and television production capabilities, so keeping Huanrui is really not very useful to us.

However, after the failure of the "Zhu Xian" project, Huanrui's valuation dropped, and now it can't be sold for a good price.

Jiang Yifeng said, "Therefore, we need to make Huanrui successful. We need to produce Gujian Qitan and The Four Great Constables well and give them certain resources."

We tried to cast artists from Huanrui as much as possible in these two dramas.

If they can make a few artists famous, Huanrui's valuation will be even higher.

After thinking it over, Jiang Yifeng decided to sell Huanrui as a package deal.

After all, Huanrui's positioning in Sohu overlaps with that of Fengxing Media, so there's not much point in keeping it.

If any of Huanrui's artists run into trouble, they could easily get themselves into a mess.

However, Huanrui's current valuation is too low, so selling it would not be worthwhile.

Fortunately, the film and television industry is currently in a period of valuation inflation, so with proper management, Huanrui can still fetch a good price.

At least the Gujian Qitan project performed very well.

Jiang Yifeng himself holds a 12.4% stake in Sohu Video.

After he took over management, the group also set up equity incentives and various dividends.

Selling Huanrui at a high price is in Jiang Yifeng's best interest, and also in the best interest of most people in the group.

Sohu Video can also use this money to invest in Fengxing Media and produce more films and television dramas.

This is a win-win situation.

Under these circumstances, Jiang Yifeng naturally hoped that the artists left behind by Huanrui could also become more popular.

We can sell it for a good price then.

After taking a sip of tea, Jiang Yifeng continued, "Let Li Yifeng play the male lead in 'Swords of Legends,' and as for the Four Great Constables, Yang Zi can play the female lead."

Putting aside prejudices, both Li Yifeng and Yang Zi are stars with earning potential.

They must have been famous in their past lives.

But Liu Chun didn't know that. He hesitated for a moment and then said, "Yang Zi does have some fame. Many people have seen her in Home with Kids."

However, her appearance isn't considered attractive. If she's cast as the female lead, will she face the same backlash as Sun Li when she played Lu Xueqi?

Jiang Yifeng shook his head and said, "Let Yang Zi learn some technology, then change her path and go from playing female roles to playing female roles."

Although many people ridiculed Yang Zichou, she was indeed the most successful actress to transition from Qingyi to Huadan.

For female celebrities, those who can become leading ladies will never choose to become mature women.

Being a Qingyi (a type of female role in Peking Opera) is tough, tiring, and doesn't pay much, while being a Huadan (another type of female role in Peking Opera) is much better—it's lucrative, brings fame, and is easier.

After becoming a leading actress, Yang Zi's ability to carry a drama series ranks first among actresses born in the 90s. Coupled with various marketing and management efforts, she has also earned a lot of money.

Anyway, she'll definitely change careers in the future, so Jiang Yifeng's guidance is a good way to make good use of resources.

Upon hearing Jiang Yifeng's instructions, Liu Chun nodded, indicating that he would make the arrangements.

From beginning to end, Liu Chun never considered Yang Zi's thoughts.

After reporting on the important work, Hu Qian and Liu Chun left.

Although the "General Rules for Content Review of Online Audiovisual Programs" is still only a draft for comments, its impact has already been felt quickly.

Under Jiang Yifeng's arrangement, Souhu Video conducted a self-examination, removed and modified a batch of video content, and submitted a report to its superiors.

In contrast, iQiyi took the opposite approach, rushing to launch "Soul Ferry" before the "General Rules" were officially issued.

Moreover, the entire series was broadcast, with all 20 episodes of the web series released on the website at once.

Riding the wave of the supernatural genre, the entire series of Soul Ferry was well received, quickly sparking widespread discussion and gaining a large following, which in turn increased iQiyi's membership base.

Seeing this, Gong Yu was quite pleased with himself, unaware that a heavy blow was about to come.

On February 11, an official inspection team was stationed at iQiyi to launch a special campaign to rectify inappropriate video content.

This time, iQiyi will be fined a lot of money, and many programs and videos will be wiped out in one fell swoop.

Sohu Video was completely unaffected; in fact, it received official praise.

Seeing this, Liu Chun was filled with admiration for Jiang Yifeng.

Jiang Yifeng ignored all of that. On the morning of February 12, he took a car to the Pacific Rim Film City in Tongzhou to prepare for filming the second season of Stranger Things.

Stepping into the newly built North American town, everything here has already been arranged.

Whether it's shopping malls, schools, hospitals, arcades, or roadside billboards, or various cars and pickup trucks, they all maintain the style of the United States in the 80s.

Hastings did an excellent job with the pre-production work; the set design this time was even more perfect than the one he did in Europe.

Guo Fan said with a smile, "When I arrived here, I was really in a daze, as if I had traveled through time."

Seeing Jiang Yifeng's puzzled expression, Guo Fan explained, "I used to love watching American TV shows, Friends was my favorite, and I have some understanding of American culture."

Jiang Yifeng nodded and said, "That's good. You should learn a lot as the assistant director this time. You might be able to take over the sequel to Stranger Things."

Hearing this, Guo Fan gave a wry smile and said, "President Jiang, you're really putting pressure on me. After the third season of Pacific Rim aired, I was criticized terribly."

Compared to the previous two seasons, Huan San has indeed declined in quality, so it's normal for Guo Fan to be criticized.

After all, Jiang Yifeng is an freakish genius with superhuman abilities, and even if Guo Fan is exceptionally talented, he still falls short compared to Jiang Yifeng. Moreover, Huan San is his first film as the sole director.

Jiang Yifeng patted Guo Fan on the shoulder and said with a smile, "You are the talent I value most, so of course I will give you more responsibilities."

Upon hearing this, Guo Fan straightened his back.

Being able to direct a sequel to Jiang Yifeng's story is truly a unique privilege within the company for Guo Fan.

Putting aside everything else, the sequels to Jiang Yifeng's TV series are all lucrative projects, and Guo Fan received a considerable amount of remuneration and bonuses.

Just as Guo Fan was about to speak, he saw Hastings walking over.

There was a beautiful woman next to Hastings.

Her facial features are very defined; she is a beauty with large features, big eyes, a big mouth, a high nose, and a lot of blank space on her face, giving her a refined yet elegant look.

With her fair skin and tall figure, she is truly stunning even from several meters away.

This is the advantage of white beauties; they are even more stunning from a distance.

There are also disadvantages. Most white women are not good to look at up close because they have large pores, a lot of body hair, and body odor.

But this beautiful woman didn't. Upon closer inspection, her skin was delicate and smooth, clearly a combination of natural beauty and top-notch skincare.

Guo Fan said in Chinese, "Anne Hathaway! President Jiang, you didn't say that Anne Hathaway was in our show!"

During this period, the Chinese entertainment industry still held a strong bias towards Hollywood.

Anne Hathaway is a top Hollywood actress and the epitome of American beauty, so it's understandable that Guo Fan was excited to see her.

Jiang Yifeng remained calm; he already knew about this situation—Anne Hathaway would be playing the villain Anne in the second season of Stranger Things.

Anne Hathaway herself volunteered to play the role of Anne, and even voluntarily reduced her salary for the role.

Jiang Yifeng was a little surprised at first, but he understood after Hastings explained.

At this time, Anne Hathaway was facing an image crisis in North America.

Anne Hathaway's original persona was that of a sweet princess: beautiful, intelligent, academically gifted, articulate, and elegant—perfect in every way.

Some people find this kind of perfection repulsive, thinking it's too fake.

As a result, in 2008, Anne Hathaway's ex-boyfriend, Farrier, was implicated in a fraud case.

She immediately broke up with him and distanced herself from Farijeri.

This is the first time Anne Hathaway has encountered controversy. Everyone thinks she is heartless and that her usual perfection is just an act.

Since then, Anne Hathaway has been constantly exposed for various "hypocritical and pretentious" things. For example, her team released press releases claiming that she changed her accent for acting, but when the movie was released, she still had a Manhattan accent, and even publicly stated that she did not want to speak with a rural accent.

Therefore, he was fiercely criticized by Americans.

Last year, Anne Hathaway won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, but she put on an affected performance during the award ceremony, pretending not to care when she clearly wanted the trophy.

He then gave a long speech, saying that he did not want to win the award.

In contrast, Lawrence is much more authentic.

After this incident, the audience's dislike for Anne Hathaway intensified.

Just as Weinstein was trying to promote Jennifer Lawrence, he took the opportunity to use Anne Hathaway as "nourishment," releasing numerous press releases about Hathaway's hypocrisy and Jennifer Lawrence's true nature.

This caused Anne Hathaway's image in the United States to collapse rapidly, making her the target of ridicule from almost the entire nation.

Anne Hathaway wanted to play a villain in Stranger Things, partly to show the audience that she could be real and play a villain, and partly to use the series to win back viewers' favor.

In fact, Hastings was reluctant to cast Anne Hathaway in Stranger Things, fearing that she might negatively impact the show's reputation and audience appeal.

It was only after Jiang Yifeng nodded that Hastings agreed.

So when Anne Hathaway saw Jiang Yifeng, she extended her hand and said, "Jiang, it's a pleasure to meet you! Thank you for giving me this opportunity to perform."

Jiang Yifeng shook hands with Anne Hathaway and said directly, "Although you have some controversies in North America, you are still well-known globally."

Your participation can help our show expand into the European and Asian markets.

But the role of Anne is quite challenging, especially since she speaks with a rural accent; you should be prepared for that.

Anne Hathaway enjoys considerable popularity in Europe, Japan, Korea, and other countries and regions.

Jiang Yifeng chose her for the role precisely because of this reason.

Moreover, Anne Hathaway is just controversial. Although many people ridicule her, her issues are not matters of principle and will not affect the broadcast of the TV series. On the contrary, they may even increase the popularity of the series.

As Jennifer Lawrence became increasingly outrageous, people realized that Anne Hathaway was actually quite nice.

Although it's pretentious, being able to keep up the act is a kind of quality.

Hearing Jiang Yifeng's words, Anne Hathaway paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "I will prepare well."

Jiang Yifeng spoke too directly, and immediately pointed out the problem of her "country accent," which hit Anne Hathaway's sore spot and made her feel awkward.

This is similar to someone making fun of "the princess and the peasant" in front of Jin Qiaoqiao.

But that's just the capriciousness of a great director.

Jiang Yifeng was too lazy to beat around the bush; he spoke his mind directly and made his requests without worrying too much about other people's feelings.

After chatting with Anne Hathaway for a few minutes, Jiang Yifeng went to the dressing room.

D'Addario and Sydney were getting their makeup done inside.

Upon seeing Jiang Yifeng, Daddario subconsciously licked his lips, seemingly recalling the taste he had experienced in Jiang Yifeng's office the previous morning.

She arrived in China three days ago and is currently staying in a courtyard house.

But Jiang Yifeng has been staying in Diaoyutai these past few days, so Daddario often goes to Jiang Yifeng's office.

Before Jiang Yifeng could speak, Sydney said, "Jiang, Anne Hathaway is a hypocritical and pretentious bitch! Don't be fooled by her!"

(End of this chapter)