Have you ever been a celebrity? Why are you writing about entertainment?

Chapter 299 I Turned Evil, But Also Became Stronger

"They actually forbid it!"

When Tong Yulu saw the competition theme of "Youth Tragedy Literature" clearly stated in the novel's main text, she felt like the sky had fallen.

She had always thought this round of questions would be suspenseful, and she had even hurriedly chosen her songs, but now she's got something completely unrelated...

No, what does Yu Wei have to do with literature about trauma? He's a writer of suspense, so he should just stick to writing suspense.

Now, the organizers have come up with a brilliant idea, and it's the two contestants' turn to rack their brains. What a struggle!
No, maybe only she needs to rack her brains. Tong Yulu recalled Chi Leying's words, "She clearly made the right bet!"
"Later" is just a song with a melancholic literary tone, full of regret and the flavor of growing up. This is the kind of emotional expression that the local singers in the same group are best at.

"Lost again."

In this kind of competition that tests one's brainpower, she is no match for Chi Leying at all. When it comes to finding patterns, Chi Leying is able to find the right direction.

Although she had reminded herself, it was too late by then; knowing three hours in advance made little difference.

"Heaven is going to destroy me..."

The local singers are too talented, so the only way to win is by choosing a unique song. There are many songs on the theme of trauma literature, but they are too similar, so it is really not easy to choose one that stands out from the crowd.

If the theme of love in the first group of competitions was sweetness, then the theme of pain literature in this group is completely the opposite, consisting only of regret and sorrow.

Tong Yulu thought for a long time and listed three songs, but quickly crossed them out silently. It was impossible; she had no chance of winning in a head-on competition.

When she tried to compare her singing skills with Yu Wei, who was merely a character from a novel, she had already lost.

The natives are no match for her, and the other contestants in her group are her natural counters. What's the point of competing? She should just withdraw from the competition and save face.

Upon thinking of this, Tong Yulu collapsed onto the bed, her mind blank. It's simple, I'll just start...

"Wait a minute, is Yu Wei planning to come up with a wicked idea for me?"

There's still hope!

……

"You think you understand literature about trauma and then you start writing it?"

This theme is quite interesting, at least in Qi Luoan's opinion, it's much more interesting than science fiction or mythology. Those themes are just using a framework, and the essence of the song is still the same old thing.

But trauma-themed literature is different; trauma is the very essence of these songs, so there's no issue of mismatch between the product and the description.

Youthful heartbreak literature, regrets, misunderstandings, missed opportunities, and heartbreak—it seems to have nothing to do with Yu Wei at all. Don't tell her that Yu Wei has suffered heartbreak.

"I don't understand, I'm just writing nonsense."

Many people's youth is uneventful, but that doesn't stop people from resonating with sad and regretful songs. You don't necessarily have to experience this kind of work yourself; a sensitive person can write wonderful stories about other people.

"Eh?"

"what happened?"

"Tong Yulu asked me to give her some advice, but I had completely forgotten about it."

This was something we agreed to during a casual chat while filming the wedding scene, but Yu Wei had been too busy with other things lately and hadn't thought about it.

There are indeed many unorthodox methods, but he couldn't think of any that fit the theme of trauma literature for the time being...

Qi Luoan was at a loss for words upon hearing this. Xiao Lu's singing skills were not as good as hers, so it was indeed unlikely that she could advance based on her strength. She should just continue with her abstract style.

What songs does she need to sing? Her ability to popularize abstract concepts is more effective than anything else.

"Let her change her writing style from 'Painful Literature' to 'Flower Knife,' it'll definitely be a hit!"

Qi Luoan was just joking, but nowadays young people scratch their arms all the time. This is real literature of suffering, not only mental pain but also physical pain.

Unexpectedly, Yu Wei actually listened to this. Changing the knife to a flower shape was too outrageous, but it was acceptable to do something more abstract as a second choice.

"What do you think about letting her turn evil on the spot?"

"?"

Is this the kind of "darkening" that Qi Luoan imagined? I can't criticize this, but the personal signature after the "darkening" is truly a piece of painful literature.

You're right, but you don't understand my soul in the dark!
"Isn't it a bit too much to have Sister Xiaolu do this..."

"Can a trick be called a trick if it's not actually evil?"

With Tong Yulu's meager tricks, it's basically impossible for her to advance based on her abilities alone. She needs to pull off some serious moves to get votes for her.

This move is risky, but the chances of success are high; it all depends on what the opponent chooses.

"How exactly does one become 'darkened'?"

Normally, Qi Luoan would avoid videos like this; they're too abstract for her to watch, and she'd be so embarrassed she'd dig her toes out of a painting like "Along the River During the Qingming Festival."

"I'm good at writing dark and edgy copy."

Yu Weizhen really remembered quite a few classic quotes. It's hard not to have an impression of this kind of thing if you surf the internet frequently and are exposed to it all. He can recite them off the top of his head.

In a sense, the dark humor copy he came up with was even original... He's spouting brand-new slang, it's no wonder Tong Yulu is so popular.

We used to call her Little Deer, what should we call her when we meet her in the future?
Sister Lu is a tough woman who doesn't talk much.

"Do you still understand this?"

Qi Luoan felt that Yu Wei's knowledge was too broad; he was proficient in both artistic and down-to-earth topics.

Besides not being able to update frequently, is there anything else he can't do?

"I know a little. I'll write it down and show it to you later."

Yu Wei is already quite eager to try. Whether Tong Yulu advances or not isn't important; what matters is that he can provide viewers with something entertaining. He can't sleep without feeding everyone some history!

Tong Yulu was full of questions when she saw Yu Wei's suggestion. She wasn't afraid of losing face, after all, she had already lost face quite a bit with "giegie". The question was, would this work?
So, this is a case of using dark and grievance-themed writing for a sadistic novel? Will netizens buy it? Don't let her get beaten to death and kicked out later.

"No, because you have achieved absolute differentiation."

The theme songs of trauma literature are all similar in style, and it is difficult to break free from the constraints of the subject matter. Netizens who come to listen to songs are enough to listen to the songs of local singers. At this time, it is the more abstract ones that can make people feel refreshed.

Tong Yulu still had deep doubts about this, but time was of the essence in the competition, and she couldn't think too much about it. She decided to go all out and give it her all, which was better than waiting to die.

"Done!"

Yu Wei's plan was this: let her choose any sad youth song, but the intro would be DJ'd on the hour, and then the opening remarks would start with a dark twist.

Let's start with a Gotham Nightmare, signaled by smashing a glass: "I finally fell in love, but you hurt me so badly."

He wrote over ten lines of copy and sent them over, making Tong Yulu's eyes go black. How could this kid come up with so many outrageous ideas? She was embarrassed just looking at them.

Their competition has at least several million viewers watching, and you're making her read this out in public? Are you sure it's not some kind of humiliating obedience test?
"If this trick doesn't work, I'll tell An'an that you stuck your tongue out during the kissing scene..."

"Are you even human?"

Spreading rumors, huh? Yu Wei was trying to help her out of kindness, but Tong Yulu played this trick. What a dirty heart she has.

"I've really turned evil!"

Tong Yulu was obviously joking; she had a lot of confidence in Yu Wei's dirty tricks, after all, he was the biggest evil cultivator.

She's turned evil and become stronger. Can little Chi Leying withstand the damage from this attack? Take this hit!

……

The biggest advantage of Yu Wei becoming the person in charge of the film is that he can flexibly arrange the shooting process.

After the fifth round of the competition began, Tong Yulu and Chi Leying were so busy preparing that they couldn't even come to the film set to shoot.

With neither the female lead nor the supporting actress present, if Qi Yunming were still in charge, the filming would be stalled. However, Yu Wei had already made preparations, and the scenes scheduled for today did not include Qiu Ya or Ma Dongmei.

The first scene we filmed in the morning was the one where Charlotte's mother begged the principal. This scene is quite classic, though it has a slightly wicked charm.

Shouting "molestation" directly is a common tactic in movies and TV shows, and there's no need to make a big deal out of it. It's not a very ethical approach, but it does work.

Even now, it's still very difficult to prove oneself in the face of such an almost shameless tactic... Which girl would joke about her innocence?

Su Xinnan and Meng Han are quite familiar with each other, so filming this kind of scene was inevitably a bit awkward, but that's exactly the effect Yu Wei wanted.

This situation is supposed to be awkward and exaggerated; acting it too realistically would be inappropriate and easily misinterpreted.

"Brother Yu, I want to improve."

While waiting for filming to begin, Meng Lei, who was helping out on set, came over to ask about the next round of filming.

In other groups, the players' styles were very obvious, but in his group, there were two players who were hard to figure out.

The concept group has two concept geniuses, and the lineup of stars is clearly not simple. Although Zhang Wei sings comedic songs, his song "Sunshine, Rainbow, Little White Horse" is quite popular.

After seeing the strength of the indigenous singers in the third round, I no longer envy his luck in the draw. With two indigenous singers in his group, does he even have a chance?

"If you perform normally, you have a chance."

Yu Wei won't reveal the questions, but Meng Lei should have no problem advancing, since he plans to kill off the entire group of stars in the storyline, which would be too costly in the later stages.

He certainly wouldn't tell anyone this; he just told Meng Lei to relax.

To accurately portray the image of Xia Luo's mother as a middle-aged woman, Su Xinnan appeared on screen mostly without makeup.

Although it wasn't a huge sacrifice, it's clear that Sister Nan took this movie very seriously, even though she was just a minor supporting character.

"Sister Nan, what do you think of the movie after watching it these past few days?"

During his break, Yu Wei wanted to ask this veteran actress for her opinion. After all, he didn't have much experience in film and television, and Qi Yunming was an old fogey who wouldn't say even if she knew.

"Things are thriving and flourishing. Everyone is working hard, and the script and actors are both excellent." Su Xinnan paused, then added, "But..."

When there's a turning point, the second half of the sentence after the turning point is the most important. Yu Wei just wanted to hear the truth.

"Elaborate."

"But it's not a big deal."

Su Xinnan opened her phone and randomly clicked on a few related hashtags for "Goodbye Mr. Loser" to show him: #TheKingOfBadMoviesIsBack #ComedyIsNotChildhoodFacts...

"The public opinion environment for the film is terrible. Netizens are all pessimistic about it, and there may be people who dislike you who are doing a smear campaign against it."

“It’s not an era where quality determines everything anymore. In the early 2000s and 2010s, if you made a good film, people would always buy it. But now, the hype surrounding a film can kill a good movie before it even gets off the ground.”

In short, times have changed. The old trick of using a good novel to refute moviegoers' doubts is no longer viable. If people were really skeptical, who would waste their money to watch it?
Especially today, with the proliferation of online trolls and countless commercial deals, even if someone watches a movie and thinks it's good, they'll be labeled an online troll the moment they speak out, and any video recommendation from a blogger will be treated as a commercial deal.

Even if it turns out to be a good film a few years later, it'll be too late; the production will have already lost money and the crew will have broken up and split up their belongings...

"Your movie needs promotion!"

Su Xinnan pointed out the key point directly: these days you can't just bury yourself in making movies. You have to make arrangements for behind-the-scenes footage, fun anecdotes, and high-quality edited videos!
Don't underestimate these simple videos; they're essential. Continuous promotion and introduction are necessary to keep moviegoers looking forward to the film, otherwise, it'll be too late by the time it's released.

"understood."

Yu Wei also considered this point. As the film's progress gets on track, it's necessary to continue releasing some behind-the-scenes footage.

There's no need to worry about publicity; it's time to slowly bring out all the songs from the movie.

(End of this chapter)