Chinese Entertainment: Top-Tier Boyfriends of Young Actresses

To be honest, the role of Huang Yuxuan is quite challenging.

Huang Yuxuan is independent, capable, and cheerful, like a little sun that shines wherever she goes.

Chen Yunru, on the other hand, is a sensitive, insecure, introverted, and withdrawn high school girl who always keeps her head down and hides in a corner, completely different from the cheerful and confident Huang Yuxuan.

Playing two roles requires a high level of acting skill from the actor.

The reason he didn't choose either of his two girlfriends was twofold: firstly, he genuinely didn't want any more complications, and secondly, their acting skills weren't yet up to par for such complex roles.

Huo Xiaolan leaned back in her chair and looked at him: "It seems you already have a standard in mind."

Su Yu thought for a moment: "Sister Huo, could you recommend a few?"

Huo Xiaolan lowered her head and pondered for a moment: "How about Li Xin? Her acting skills are not bad, and she's pretty too."

Su Yu shook his head: "Li Xin's face looks too bitter, while Huang Yuxuan is the kind of sunny and cheerful little sun. She's not suitable."

"What about Zhao Xiaodao?"

"It's too expensive, and the acting isn't very good either."

After that, Huo Xiaolan named several more actresses, some of whom were currently very popular, and others who were nearing the second tier. Su Yu was not entirely satisfied with any of them.

Either the actor's image doesn't match the role, or his acting skills are insufficient, or the salary is too high and the budget simply can't cover it.

Huo Xiaolan put the notebook on the table, her tone already showing some impatience.

"What makes you, the female lead in a teen idol drama, have so many demands? You want her to be cheap, have good acting skills, and be beautiful all at once? Do you think I'm some kind of wishing well? Making wishes here?"

Su Yu chuckled and touched his nose: "Isn't it because you're so knowledgeable that I'm asking you for advice?"

Huo Xiaolan rolled her eyes, leaned back in her chair, and thought carefully: "There really is such a candidate—Li Yitong."

"She acted in 'Demon Girl' and also received a lot of praise for playing Huang Rong in the new 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes'. Her acting skills are passable, she's good-looking, and most importantly, she's very cheap."

Su Yu thought about it carefully for a moment, then frowned.

Li Yitong has a sweet appearance, but when she played Huang Rong, she was criticized for "acting too sweetly".

She has no problem playing Huang Yuxuan, but playing Chen Yunru would be very difficult.

Given Li Yitong's temperament, Su Yu found it hard to imagine that she could portray that kind of gloomy feeling.

"I still don't think it's quite right. Her style doesn't match, and she can't portray the feeling of Chen Yunru."

Huo Xiaolan shrugged: "Then I have no choice. You'd better invite a few more actresses to audition in person."

"Alternatively, you could try looking for performing arts students at several top universities and art schools; you might get lucky and find a suitable one."

Su Yu nodded; this was the only way to start—casting a wide net.

The original version of this drama was filmed in Taiwan, so the actors were naturally cast from Taiwan as well. Therefore, he couldn't be lazy and just find the female lead from the original work.

And to be honest, he couldn't quite remember who played the female lead in the drama, since who would bother to remember an actor's name?

"By the way," Huo Xiaolan pulled another document from the drawer and handed it to him, "the investment has been confirmed. Tencent Video will invest 3000 million, Huace Media will invest 2000 million, and our studio will invest 1000 million, for a total investment of 6000 million."

Huo Xiaolan personally secured these investments. She asked Dai Lu to act as a go-between and also used her own network of connections to get the two companies to agree to the deals.

As for Su Yu's salary for this drama, after several parties discussed it, it was set at 4000 million yuan. This was based on his current market price. 4000 million yuan is neither high nor low for Su Yu.

Of course, Su Yu incorporated all of that film remuneration into his investment.

When promoting the show to the public, we can claim that the total investment in the series exceeded 100 million yuan.

Su Yu took the investment agreement and flipped through it: "So you've already secured those two companies?"

He was somewhat surprised, after all, investing in TV dramas has always been a high-risk business. Hundreds of dramas are produced in China every year, but less than a hundred can break even, and very few actually make money.

"Don't you know your own status right now?" Huo Xiaolan leaned back in her chair. "You're now a top star, second only to Lu Han and Kris Wu."

"And the reason why Tencent and Huace were so quick to agree is ultimately because of your performance in 'A Love So Beautiful,' which proves that you can indeed carry a drama."

"Moreover, although 'Someday or One Day' adds a layer of science fiction and time travel, it is essentially still a youth idol drama. With you in the cast, they felt that the quality of the drama wouldn't be too bad."

What surprised Su Yu wasn't the funding issue. With his current status, he could easily get a lot of people to invest in him by simply making a few announcements in the industry.

To his surprise, both companies endorsed his show at the same time.

With Tencent Video's investment, Su Yu's drama will receive promotional resources from the video platform.

As for Huace Media, they have long-term cooperation with television stations, so if this drama wants to be broadcast on a major network, Huace Media can help pave the way.

It can only be said that he underestimated his current influence as well as Huo Xiaolan's power within the industry.

Su Yu couldn't help but ask, "Sister Huo, your family wouldn't...?"

He pointed to the ceiling.

Huo Xiaolan rolled her eyes at him. "You're overthinking it. If I were really that capable, would I be working for you?"

She then immediately changed the subject.

"Also," Huo Xiaolan flipped to the last page of the investment agreement in her hand, pointing to the cooperation model section, "the cooperation model has also been agreed upon. According to your wishes, this drama will adopt a revenue-sharing model."

"Tencent was very willing to cooperate with this plan, and they even took the initiative to classify your show as an S-category show."

Su Yu raised an eyebrow: "Class S?"

"Yes." Huo Xiaolan nodded.

"Tencent urgently needs a benchmark that can prove the viability of the revenue-sharing model. iQiyi has already achieved success with its revenue-sharing dramas in the past two years. Although Tencent has also launched a revenue-sharing model, it has yet to produce a work that can be compared with iQiyi's."

"You are the first top-tier artist to proactively seek out a revenue-sharing model with them. Before you, most of the projects that dared to touch the revenue-sharing model were small to medium-sized. No top-tier artist was willing to give up a guaranteed copyright fee to gamble with the platform."

"So they classified your project as an S-class project and gave it the highest share of 70%, intending to use your show as a benchmark."

Su Yu leaned back on the sofa, suddenly remembering something: "Why didn't Noon vote?"

Huo Xiaolan explained, "The fact that Noon Sunshine didn't invest is somewhat related to Tencent and Huace Media."

"The relationship between Daylight Entertainment and Tencent has always been rather delicate. The two companies had a conflict over 'Candle in the Tomb'."

"In addition, there is also a story between Daylight Entertainment and Huace Media. Huace Media once tried to acquire a stake in Daylight Entertainment, but ultimately no agreement was reached, and the competitive relationship between the two sides continues."

"Now that Noon is preparing for its IPO, it is very cautious about all external investments. With these factors combined, they naturally chose to wait and see."

After listening, Su Yu leaned back on the sofa and nodded silently.

So that's how it is. The intricacies between these major companies in the industry are far more complex than he imagined.

"Alright, stop thinking about it." Huo Xiaolan took back the investment agreement, closed the folder, and said, "It won't matter if Noon doesn't invest. The two investments from Tencent and Huace are enough for us to get the project off the ground."