Huayu Entertainment: The Birth of a Succubus Top Star

The problem facing Xu Zheng now is that actresses are easy to find, but actresses who can match Gu Zhiyan's fame and are also inexpensive are not easy to find.

Damn it, now's not the time to think about actresses. Let's get Gu Zhiyan hooked first.

"Brother Yan, you can rest assured about the actresses. If you're not satisfied, we can find someone else," Xu Zheng said confidently.

Not satisfied? Change it again? Just listen to that.

Gu Zhiyan was too lazy to expose him: "Fine, since Brother Zheng has put it this way, I'll take this role. However, I have another TV series that I need to start filming soon..."

Upon hearing this, Xu Zheng was overjoyed and quickly said, "It won't delay anything. We'll start filming again after you finish the TV series."

We finally have time to properly select a female lead, but there's still the most important issue to discuss: her salary.

Xu Zheng then added, "Um, Brother Yan, this movie is a low-budget romance film with a small investment, so I might not be able to offer you that much in terms of salary..."

"Huh? Director Xu is planning to have Xiao Yan lower his fee to act in the film? That's absolutely impossible!" Xiu Xiu immediately played the bad cop.

Xu Zheng quickly waved his hand: "No, no, President Xiu, don't worry, let me finish. It's a fixed salary plus a share of the box office revenue. We can discuss the specific percentage later. I'm sure you'll be satisfied."

"How about this, I won't take the salary. Let's convert it all into box office revenue sharing. The film's investment is limited, so let's spend the money wisely. This is also a way to support Brother Zheng's new movie."

Gu Zhiyan remembered that this movie had grossed over a billion yuan. It was a low-budget romance film, so it made a lot of money.

It's a fool not to make money when you can.

"Brother Yan, I won't say anything more, it's all in the wine." Xu Zheng excitedly picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Filmmaking is a risky business, with nine out of ten projects failing. Xu Zheng himself wasn't very confident, and it was also director Su Lun's first time directing a film independently.

Although he still had great faith in Su Lun's abilities, he wanted to minimize the risks as much as possible.

Wu Jingcheng is honest and trustworthy, and Gu Zhiyan is indeed righteous!

Xiuxiu will handle the specific details of the collaboration, and Gu Zhiyan will then join the cast of "The Story of Minglan".

After being on set for a few days, Gu Zhiyan's biggest impression was that all the actors in the crew were incredibly dedicated; he had never seen such a dedicated crew before.

Let's not even talk about middle-aged actors like Liu Lin, who played the eldest daughter-in-law of the Sheng family; their dedication to their roles is truly admirable.

Even the younger generation of actors showed the spirit of "working like crazy".

Zhu Yilong, who plays Qi Heng, Zhang Jianing, who plays Sheng Rulan, and Shi Shi, who plays Sheng Molan... all have the script in their hands all day long.

Zhu Yilong, in particular, is completely obsessed, making Gu Zhiyan really want to tell him, "Dude, you don't need to work so hard. Just wait for the 'Guardian Girls' to make you famous."

This made Gu Zhiyan feel quite bored; he couldn't find anyone to chat with, whether it was bragging or playing games.

However, this is understandable; dramas produced by Daylight Entertainment have this kind of magic.

As long as you perform well in a Noon Sunshine drama, becoming a big star is hard to say, but becoming a moderately popular star is not difficult.

No actor doesn't want to become famous; young actors are all holding their breath, eager to make a name for themselves.

Gu Zhiyan was the only one who didn't fit in with the atmosphere of the entire crew, spending his days idly like a "street hustler".

However, no one in the crew said anything about Gu Zhiyan's "unconventional" behavior, because this guy was just too amazing!

I never saw him read the script or seriously study the character, but once filming started, his performance completely overwhelmed everyone else.

Whether it's their interpretation of the character or their mastery of dialogue, they are incredibly fluent and natural. Not to mention these young actors, even the older generation of actors feel immense pressure.

Gu Zhiyan played a part in the crew's success in getting things done.

Gu Zhiyan idles away his days, which everyone is happy to see. If he also gets involved, will he leave any way for others to survive?

Among the main actors in the entire cast, Zhao Liying's performance was noticeably lackluster.

Compared to Gao Lu, who played Lin Xiaoniang, and Liu Lin, who played the eldest daughter-in-law, her acting skills were only average and not particularly outstanding.

One reason is the character setting. Sheng Minglan is a reserved and introverted lady from ancient times. In the early stages, she hides her talents and protects herself in the power struggles within the household, and her emotional expression is relatively subtle.

Sister Zhao attempted to portray the character's everyday life through a "natural" acting style, but lacked strong dramatic tension or "explosive" acting skills, making her performance appear "bland".

On the other hand, it seems that Sister Zhao has been too busy lately. During the filming of the TV series, she also has a lot of other commitments to attend. Although she has coordinated with the production team, it is inevitable that her performance will be less than satisfactory when her energy is scattered.

Besides, although Zhao Liying's acting skills are considered "outstanding" among the post-85 actresses, the gap becomes apparent when compared with veteran actors like Cao Cuifen and Liu Jun.

The more you compare, the more painful it becomes!

This led to the highly competitive Zhao Jie taking the initiative to ask Gu Zhiyan to coach her acting skills.

It's one thing to instruct actors on acting during the day, but at night they also have to instruct on "acting" again.

However, the evening guidance sessions are not held every day, as Sister Zhao's health simply cannot handle it.

Fortunately, Zhang Hanyun joined the crew soon after, which relieved a lot of pressure for Zhao Liying.

Zhang Hanyun's appearance is a guest role. She plays Sheng Shulan, the cousin of the female lead Sheng Minglan. Her role is not large, lasting only about two or three episodes.

Despite having very few scenes, Zhang Hanyun's portrayal of Sheng Shulan was gentle, quiet, and pitiful. She perfectly captured the character's forbearance in the face of an unhappy marriage and her eventual relief upon gaining freedom.

However, she will stay for a while after filming because she needs to record the theme song "Do You Know" for the TV series.

Since there is such a talented singer-songwriter as Gu Zhiyan, the production team naturally did not invite anyone else to write songs, but instead extended an invitation to Gu Zhiyan.

Gu Zhiyan's last album sold over ten million copies, breaking various digital album sales records. Few people question his title as the number one new generation singer, except for his fans who consider him a god in the Chinese music scene.

Li Yuchun, who has long dominated various digital album records, saw her new album's sales fall far short of Gu Zhiyan's.

More importantly, every song on Gu Zhiyan's album is widely sung and dominates the BGM usage charts on short video platforms, proving it's not just a niche phenomenon.

Many singers have also adapted and covered Gu Zhiyan's songs on various variety shows and competitive stages.

Aside from Ms. Zhang Hanyun, who is authorized by Gu Zhiyan to sing freely, everyone else naturally has to pay copyright fees.

Those who are on the same side will ultimately receive different treatment.

Of course, if other older or younger female students want to sing Gu Zhiyan's songs, they will naturally receive the same treatment as Zhang Hanyun.

However, the other sisters are all actresses, so they probably rarely challenge their weaknesses.

Hmm, no, that's not right either. Sister Meng has been practicing Gu Zhiyan's songs diligently lately, hoping to make a name for herself!

As expected of the "nightingale of the Chinese entertainment industry," she's incredibly talented!