Chinese entertainment: Top stars have no holidays

"So, I won't be joining the production for the time being?"

"I guess so."

"The scripts we've received aren't very good. Everyone in the industry is waiting to see how 'A Love So Beautiful' turns out."

"They're all incredibly shrewd."

In Jiang Bai's apartment in Shanghai, Xu Xu and he were discussing their upcoming work arrangements.

An awkward situation arose.

Although Jiang Bai became a sensation on the internet thanks to his role as Lu Zhiang.

But this fleeting popularity might be seen by those business brands as an opportunity to ride the wave of hype.

After all, when they ask Jiang Bai to attend events, they decide on the same day and he can attend the following week.

They could easily monetize their products before the hype surrounding Jiang Bai fades.

But projects like movies and TV series are different.

Film and television projects typically have a production cycle of at least one year, and some slower projects may take one or two years to air after filming is completed.

Who knows how popular Jiang Bai will be in a year or two?

He only became popular because of a supporting role, and his popularity is too superficial, like a castle in the air, unable to prove his ability to carry a drama.

The high ratings of "Rush to the Dead Summer" are, to be honest, 90% of the credit goes to Zheng Shuang. In the early stages, it was all thanks to Zheng Shuang's fame that the audience was attracted to watch.

However, after Zheng Shuang disappeared from the public eye in the later stages, the ratings did indeed decline somewhat.

Even though the pairing of Lu Zhiang and Yan Mo became a hit, it didn't reverse the ratings; it only stabilized them and prevented them from continuing to decline.

Even if Jiang Bai reaps the biggest benefits from this drama, it doesn't prove that he can handle big-budget productions.

Therefore, at least in film and television projects with investments often reaching hundreds of millions of yuan, Jiang Bai is still not popular, and these investors are still quite cautious in their actions.

After all, they had learned their lesson the hard way once.

Zhang Tianai became a sensation in late 2015 for a single role, and a group of investors flocked to her, showering her with acting offers.

As the tide receded, apart from "I Belonged to You" which performed relatively well, all the other projects flopped.

Zhang Tianai joined in the fun by making music and releasing a single, but nobody bought it.

Therefore, the big capital that has learned its lesson is now choosing to wait and see.

After all, Jiang Bai also has another drama, "A Love So Beautiful," which has already been scheduled for release.

We'll have to wait until the ratings for "A Love So Beautiful" are released. If the ratings are still good, then Jiang Bai will really become a hot commodity and be pursued by big capital.

However, some low-budget film and television projects are quite enthusiastic about him now.

After all, he became famous for one role and has a superstitious aura about him, so many small and medium-sized projects are willing to take a gamble.

Xu Xu recently received more than 20 scripts, including those for TV series and movies.

These are all short-term projects, which can be completed in two or three months, and then broadcast as early as the end of the year, catching the tail end of Jiang Bai's popularity.

However, most TV dramas feature male leads in low- to medium-budget web series with investments under 5000 million yuan, and the female leads are usually paired with third- or fourth-tier actresses.

The films were all low-budget productions, with investments of only 20 to 30 million.

It's not that Jiang Bai can't take on small to medium-budget projects; Ju Ke's own projects are only at this level.

The main problem is that the scripts submitted were all of very poor quality, poorly made, and illogical.

Even the most short-sighted agent would never allow an artist to accept this kind of script.

"Actually, it's not that we haven't received offers for big projects."

At this moment, Xu Xu flipped through a stack of scripts on the table and pulled out two scripts.

"This is a drama that our company co-produced."

"The projects that Syndicate collaborates on with other companies."

"But the offer they sent was only for a fifth male lead role, with very few scenes."

"There's no other way. This film is considered a major production of the year. The syndicate alone couldn't handle it, so it was jointly invested in by three or four companies."

"The male lead is played by Chen Kun, a film star, and the female lead is Ni Ni, a 'Zhang Yimou girl' (actress discovered by director Zhang Yimou)."

"Even the other main roles are all played by well-known veteran actors or accomplished performers in the industry."

Jiang Bai took the script and glanced at it.

Hey!

Isn't this the drama "The Rise of Phoenixes" that caused Chen Kun to break with Hunan TV?

So, since he replaced Bai Jingting as Lu Zhiang, he also got this role in his place.

But he really had no interest in the show at all.

The show premiered with a 0.5% viewership rating, which kept dropping, reaching a low of 0.15%!

For a big-budget production with an investment of hundreds of millions of yuan, such ratings are not just a flop, they're practically ratings poison!

As if he had touched something dirty, Jiang Bai quickly threw the script onto the table. "Let's just forget about this drama."

"There's no need to answer, really no need."

Xu Xu thought Jiang Bai was dissatisfied with the small role, so he nodded understandingly.

After all, Jiang Bai debuted as the second male lead and has two more leading roles to follow, so there's really no need for him to play a minor role as the fifth or sixth lead.

"And this too." Xu Xu handed over another script.

"A screenplay adapted from Ma Boyong's novel."

"It tells the story of a crisis in Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, in which the main characters have 24 hours to resolve the crisis."

"Although the story focuses on a small perspective, it is indeed a big production, with as many as 15 companies participating in the investment."

"The main investors were Youku and the Alibaba Group behind Youku."

"However, the production cycle of this drama is very long. It is estimated that filming alone will take 217 days. Filming started in November 2017 and will continue until June."

"You've been invited to audition for this role, not to act in it. However, you're auditioning for the second male lead, so you won't need to be on set the whole time. The filming is expected to take three to four months."

"Me? The second male lead?" Jiang Bai frowned as he took the script.

Sure enough, it was "The Longest Day in Chang'an".

He remembered very clearly that the second male lead in this drama was Ali's son, Qianxi.

This film also marked the first collaboration between Millennium and Alibaba Capital, establishing his subsequent identity within the Alibaba ecosystem.

Honestly, he shouldn't have received this audition.

Competing with Millennium, which is backed by Alibaba, for this role is like having the referees on the other side's side; how could they possibly win?

However, "The Longest Day in Chang'an" is a good prospect.

"Is it possible for me to audition for the male lead?" Jiang Bai asked with some anticipation.

"I'm more interested in this Zhang Xiaojing."

"The male lead?" Xu Xu frowned as well.

"It's not really suitable. Zhang Xiaojing is a soldier who served for many years, including ten years as a border guard in the Western Regions and nine years as the head of the Chang'an Bad Guys."

"At the very least, we need to find an actor in his thirties to play the role."

"You're too young."

indeed.

Jiang Bai fell silent.

Although it is often said that actors need challenges and to broaden their range of roles, young people playing middle-aged or elderly people is also a way to break through in terms of acting skills.

But Jiang Bai was also aware that roles with too large an age range were not suitable for him to play.

He's too young and handsome; it's unrealistic for him to deliberately try to look mature or ugly.

Perhaps he could play roles like a 30-year-old domineering CEO or a workplace elite, which wouldn't seem out of place in an idol drama.

But to play a rogue commander from an ancient border army in his thirties or forties would be really too incongruous.

"Then forget it," Jiang Bai said regretfully.

"However," Xu Xu said with a mysterious smile, taking out a document from his bag.

"I also have a variety show offer here, I think you could give it a try."

"If I don't join a film crew, appearing on variety shows would be great!"

"That's also a major way to maintain popularity!"