Guangnian Entertainment is one of the four major entertainment companies in Kyoto. Their main business is film and television. Li Hongyi is the chairman of Guangnian Entertainment. There was another person in his office: the famous director Song Rentou. Last time, a film with an investment of over a billion yuan was expected to be a big hit, but unexpectedly, Zhang Li found Ting Yu to write a song called "Father." With the song's influence, Zhang Li's film captured more than half of the market share, causing them to lose a lot of money.
"Mr. Li, are you sure about not finding Ting Yu for the theme song and插曲 (insert songs) of our new TV series this time?" Song Rentou coughed twice, breaking the silence. He and Li Hongyi were preparing a Xianxia drama adapted from the immensely popular Xianxia novel "Asking Sword Seeking Immortality" on Muyu Literature Network. They were already in the actor recruitment stage.
"Forget it, this time we'll go big and invite the Song God to write the music!" Currently, Ting Yu is the most suitable person to invite for songs in the Chinese music scene. He not only has high popularity but also excellent quality. However, Li Hongyi still had a knot in his heart because it was Ting Yu's song "Father" that caused him to lose a lot of money last time.
"Song God? Are you thinking of finding Jiang Qian or Fang Lingyu?" Song Rentou took a deep breath, surprised. Among the four Song Gods of the Chinese music scene, Chen Shuhao and Ting Yu were significantly weakened after their battle. Mo Yan's fees were the highest among the Song Gods, making him less cost-effective. The remaining options were Jiang Qian and Fang Lingyu.
"Let's go with Fang Lingyu. Jiang Qian is going to be a judge for the city competition and likely won't accept other work. Besides, Fang Lingyu has written many popular film and television theme songs, so finding him is more reliable." Li Hongyi pondered and then made the decision. A TV series, besides the theme song, also has插曲 (insert songs) and background music. This time, Li Hongyi directly invited a Song God, showing he was willing to invest heavily.
"Have you contacted the male lead?" Li Hongyi took out a pack of cigarettes from his drawer, opened it, and offered a cigarette to Song Rentou. Since the last time he and Song Rentou were in the office and choked to tears, they had inexplicably developed a habit of smoking.
"We were considering Zhang Qingyun for the male lead, but his agent said he's preparing to audition for that "Legend of Sword and Fairy" project." Song Rentou took the cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag. Li Hongyi's brow furrowed at the mention of it. "You mean the one whose copyright we haven't been able to secure?" After the book became hugely popular, Li Hongyi went to negotiate the film and television adaptation rights with the platform. However, the author seemed unwilling to sell the rights. He never expected that this book, which every film company wanted to sign, would be obtained by Xinghui.
"That's right. After Xinghui released the news, Zhang Qingyun declared that he wanted the male lead role and seemed determined to get it." "Then we'll have to find someone else. Zhang Qingyun is the hottest traffic among actors in the film and television industry right now. Directly handing him over to a small company like Xinghui would probably make them laugh in their sleep." "Alright, I'll go ask who else is available." After discussion, they made their decision. Although Zhang Qingyun was the best candidate, if he wanted to play Li Xiaoyao, they would have to find other actors.
...
In the following days, Zhang Qingyun's desire to play the male lead in "Legend of Sword and Fairy" was a hot topic among netizens, consistently remaining in the top ten trending searches. Everyone felt that this matter was highly likely to succeed, as Zhang Qingyun was the most popular among the younger generation of male actors. He was a guarantee of ratings and represented that as long as he was the male lead, the production company would make a fortune, even if the plot was garbage and the acting was bad, they would still make money, simply because the male lead was Zhang Qingyun. A small company like Xinghui couldn't possibly let go of such a top-tier star.
"I'm already looking forward to Brother Qingyun's Li Xiaoyao!" "Exactly, I can see Brother Qingyun's stunning beauty on screen again!" "Haha, looking forward to Brother's new drama. Although Xinghui doesn't match Brother's stature, this drama is worthy, after all, it's such a popular book." "Who do you think they'll cast as the female lead?" "Who knows, among the Four Little Flowers, the Qin sisters have good acting skills. The other two seem to be unavailable." "Whoever they cast is fine. With Brother Qingyun as the male lead, even newcomers are acceptable, as I only watch his scenes." "Looking forward to the magnificent debut of the great hero Brother Qingyun!"
Although Zhang Qingyun had not yet posted anything on his Weibo, his fans were convinced that the role of Li Xiaoyao was his. After all, production companies usually sought actors to play roles, and now that Zhang Qingyun had directly expressed his desire to act, everyone believed that the role of Li Xiaoyao was already secured by him. Just then, Xinghui posted an official Weibo. "We have received audition applications from many excellent actors. The audition time for the main cast is scheduled for next Friday, and the final cast list will be announced then." This news caused Zhang Qingyun's fans to lament, complaining online that Xinghui was keeping them in suspense. Why not just announce Zhang Qingyun as the male lead? They had to wait until next Friday. Some dissatisfied fans flooded the comments section of this Weibo, venting their emotions. Many people on the internet saw a hint of something unusual in Xinghui not directly choosing Zhang Qingyun. Did Xinghui have other plans?
...
Xinghui Entertainment. Meeting room. All the senior executives from the film and television department were present. Zhao Yuan sat in the main seat. As the film and television department was a newly established department, a suitable director had not yet been found, so Zhao Yuan was temporarily in charge.
"Director Zhao, Zhang Qingyun's agent has called us several times, and they've also expressed their strong desire to play the role of Li Xiaoyao, even offering to lower their salary by 20% compared to the market price. Why aren't we directly accepting such a good opportunity?" "Exactly, as long as Zhang Qingyun is involved, even if this TV series is made poorly, we won't lose money." "The parent company has given us a budget of 1.3 billion yuan. As long as we don't hire top-tier stars for other roles, it should be enough." The executives were puzzled.
"Everyone, please calm down. Regarding the casting, we will make the decision together once screenwriter Jiangnan arrives. I believe everyone has received the news from the parent company. For this TV series production, Jiangnan has the greatest authority. He decides the director and actors, and we just need to cooperate with him." That's right, after providing the budget, Emperor Entertainment specifically added a note: The filming of "Legend of Sword and Fairy" will be entirely decided by screenwriter Jiangnan. This is unheard of in other crews. Nonsense! When they saw this message, the people in Xinghui's film and television department could only think of these two words. What does Jiangnan, a writer, know about TV dramas? However, this was an order from the parent company, so they had to comply.
"Don't be upset either. I haven't even applied yet, and the parent company directly gave us a budget of 1.3 billion yuan and such great authority to Jiangnan. It's clear that they just want you to be good tools and not to think too much about anything else. Just quietly wait for next Friday." Zhao Yuan said faintly, seeing the displeased expressions of everyone. Then, her curiosity about this Jiangnan grew even stronger. The film and television adaptation rights for "Legend of Sword and Fairy" were signed by Chen Yong and the author Jiangnan. She was originally the director of the film and television department, but Jiangnan didn't contact her and instead went to Chen Yong, as if avoiding her. When she asked Chen Yong about Jiangnan's situation, Chen Yong was evasive. Moreover, he had been acting unusually lately, frequently asking friends to order various types of tea for him, and when asked, he just said someone liked to drink it and he was preparing more, which made her even more suspicious.
"Humph, you'll have to show yourself when it's time for casting!" Zhao Yuan gritted her teeth. At that time, I'll see if I can 'stab' you or not! This is the determination of a book fan to 'stab' the author!