Reborn in the Entertainment Industry: This Top Star Has Real Achievements

Meanwhile, in another car, Sister Zhou was also calling General Manager Zhang, and the conversation naturally revolved around the roadshow that had just ended.

However, compared to the indignation in Sister Zhou's tone, Zhang Hui burst into laughter after hearing the whole story: "Li Xiang didn't suffer any losses, did he?"

"No, Director Zhang made it clear on the spot, which is a final conclusion."

Sister Zhou sighed, "But there will definitely be more troubles later, and this is only the second stop of the roadshow."

"It's good to have some drama!" Zhang Hui interrupted Sister Zhou directly. "If it's just calm and stagnant, the company will have to worry about this kid."

This is just right—controversy generates discussion, and discussion attracts more viewers to the cinema, leading to a steady rise in box office revenue.

"Li Xiang also took advantage of this wave of popularity to solidify his position as a movie star."

And you should be clear that movie stars are also divided into different levels.

Only movie stars who can guarantee box office success are the most sought-after guests by major projects.

"In my opinion, Zhang Weiping's actions may not be out of personal grudges. He is probably just trying to generate buzz and attract attention, ultimately to boost box office revenue."

So, all things considered, Li Xiang didn't actually suffer any losses.

Sister Zhou couldn't help but interject, "But the reputation of having connections isn't exactly pleasing..."

"Can good music feed you?" Zhang Hui scoffed.

"People admire the strong, that's undeniable. People might grumble about connections, but what do they really think?"

He could only secretly think that this kid must have extraordinary power to warrant such protection from Director Zhang...

Subconsciously, people assume that the films he stars in must be of high quality, since he debuted as the male lead in a Zhang Yimou film, which gave him a high starting point and naturally raised his status.

This will be of immense benefit to him in choosing scripts and establishing himself in the entertainment industry; it's far more valuable than a few idle words.

Seeing that Zhang Hui was determined not to get involved and that his words implied he wanted to push things along, Sister Zhou didn't dare to say anything more, for fear of causing trouble for Li Xiang.

Left with no other option, she could only change the subject: "Then... could the company assign someone to monitor the online rumors? Let's prevent them from getting too outrageous."

Zhang Hui readily agreed to this request: "Don't worry, I'll have someone take care of it in a bit."

Actually, Zhang Hui didn't have any other thoughts; he was just a little anxious.

Since signing Li Xiang, the head of his agency hasn't achieved anything significant.

The film scripts that were arranged were either not to Li Xiang's liking or were not suitable in style;

I wanted to find some high-quality TV resources, but I dared not act rashly because of Zhang Yimou's instructions.

All things considered, the company provided Li Xiang with almost no substantial assistance.

This fueled his inner desire to always have something to offer and to find an opportunity to demonstrate his abilities.

On the one hand, they wanted Li Xiang to see the company's capabilities, and on the other hand, they wanted Zhang Yimou to see the value of Huace.

You know, without the phoenix tree, the golden phoenix wouldn't be attracted.

If Li Xiang hadn't become the male lead in Director Zhang's film, Hua Ce, no matter how hard he tried, probably wouldn't have caught Director Zhang's eye.

But things are different now. Through his connection with Li Xiang, he seems to see the possibility of manipulating a larger landscape.

The thought of possibly signing Zhang Yimou made him feel like he was burning with excitement.

To put it bluntly, he's now spending a fortune to prove to Zhang Yimou that Huace is by no means inferior to New Pictures.

He may have forgotten that Zhang Yimou, a "golden phoenix," is not the only one in the industry eyeing him.

Everyone has their own little thoughts and is preparing for what's to come...

Meanwhile, the film crew continued their promotional tour, moving from the second cinema to the third and fourth, proceeding step by step.

The other anticipated conflicts did not occur.

Li Xiang understood that this was not because Zhang Weiping had let him off the hook, but because the other party was busy with something more important—that is, to take advantage of the hype and amplify the topic.

After all, Director Zhang made it very clear that everything right now must ultimately serve the purpose of box office success.

While things remained calm offline, the online trend was quietly shifting.

By noon, related news began appearing on major websites, including articles by Zhang Weiping discussing the creative process of "Under the Hawthorn Tree."

They even devoted a great deal of space to praising that "one in a million" little yellow duck:

They praised her talent, her hard work, and her compatibility with the original female lead, saying she was even more like Jingqiu than Jingqiu herself.

Then, the conversation abruptly shifted to Li Xiang, the male lead:

How did a freshman in college suddenly get lucky and land the male lead's contract?

Moreover, he surprisingly didn't sign with New Pictures...

While these articles garnered some attention, they failed to truly ignite netizens' gossip-loving spirit.

It wasn't until a batch of news articles with headlines like "UC Shocking Headlines" sprang up like mushrooms after rain that the internet truly exploded.

The popularity of "Under the Hawthorn Tree" began to spread like ripples on water—

Compared to the behind-the-scenes twists and turns, what netizens are more concerned about is what actually happened at today's roadshow.

What exactly is the meaning behind the little yellow duck's mysterious smile? And who arranged for that audience member who was clearly not actually in the audience?

It was through these imaginative UC press releases that the news of discord between the male and female leads of "Under the Hawthorn Tree" was finally brought to the forefront.

Even more surprisingly, the two sides now appear to be evenly matched.

Judging from the atmosphere of the roadshow this morning, Zhang Yimou is clearly on the male lead's side.

This makes the whole thing even more intriguing and excites netizens.

After all, whether you've seen the pre-release publicity or already seen the film in theaters, you know that this movie is about pure love and the protection of hope.

But off-screen, even just two days after the movie's release, the atmosphere between the male and female leads had already turned into this awful mess.

This stark contrast between the on-screen and off-screen worlds only fuels people's curiosity!

How did the two manage to act out the entire movie?

Once this curiosity was piqued, I couldn't resist going to the cinema to find out.

In addition, several unseen hands on the other side of the internet are quietly stirring up this murky water.

They dismantle, fragment, and reassemble those already wildly imaginative news stories, then let them ferment wildly in the direction they want.

By evening, the incident involving the male and female protagonists had become merely the tip of the iceberg, as even more sensational speculations began to emerge:

"The two Zhangs are about to break up! 'Under the Hawthorn Tree' may be the end of their collaboration!"

"Zhang Yimou uses a pure love story as a metaphor for the ending of New Picture—one lives, one dies."

"Guess which of the two is Jingqiu and which is Lao San?"

Will Zhang Weiping's third son also suddenly die?

"Zhang Yimou doesn't want New Pictures to be profitable, so he's abandoning big-budget films and switching to low-budget art films."

"Director Zhang ignores the female lead in his new film because she doesn't fit the new visual style."

"The identity of the male lead in the new film remains a mystery, with his family background seemingly shrouded in secrecy"...

The various conflicting accounts have provided a huge dose of gossip for netizens across the internet.

If this were the era of Weibo trending topics, the top ten spots would probably be completely dominated by entries related to "Under the Hawthorn Tree".