The male and female second leads were to be selected from the artists at Liuyun Media, but Chen Mingzhang could arrange auditions to pick the ones with the best acting skills for the roles.
The majority of Liuyun Media's artists were graduates of performing arts academies, boasting both good looks and acting prowess.
While it wasn't entirely demeaning for A-list artists to play supporting roles for Jiang Ling, a platinum-tier artist, their market-driven salaries were simply too high to afford.
After a series of screen tests, Chen Mingzhang selected a gentle young actor from the B-list to play the male second lead, Xu Ziqian, and a petite actress with the flair of a modern independent woman to play the female second lead, Fan Yunxi.
As for the other supporting roles, they were all filled by artists from Liuyun Media.
The major companies all wore grim expressions upon seeing this.
They had initially hoped to benefit from the project, but Liuyun Media had swept up everything, leaving them no chance even to scrape the bottom of the pot.
But what good was their anger?
It was all thanks to their platinum-tier artist.
With the advantage in hand, they had the world at their fingertips.
After Liuyun Media secured all the supporting roles for "The Prince Who Turned into a Frog," other companies began to consider if they should also cultivate a platinum-tier artist to serve as their golden signboard.
As soon as this idea surfaced, they immediately shook their heads.
Creating a platinum-tier artist wasn't something they could simply decide to do.
Besides gaining the approval of all company shareholders, the artist themselves also needed to be recognized by the market.
Just like Jiang Ling, who possessed both excellent looks and acting skills, had tens of millions of fans, and a few super-hit blockbusters to her name.
If these conditions weren't met, attempting to build up an artist into a platinum-tier one would only be a futile imitation, a laughable endeavor that would make them a spectacle.
The story of "The Prince Who Turned into a Frog" was inspired by the fairy tale "The Frog Prince."
The difference was that "The Frog Prince" depicted a transformation from a frog to a prince, while "The Prince Who Turned into a Frog" reversed this, aligning with the title.
The story itself was quite simple: it revolved around a greedy girl whose life goal was to marry a rich man, and a cold, domineering CEO who measured his self-worth by his career.
An accidental incident brought these two individuals, living on parallel lines, into contact. The cold CEO lost his memory, transforming from a noble prince into a fallen frog.
The greedy girl, mistaking him for an unknown stowaway, bullied and exploited him, constantly trying to take advantage of him. Yet, unknowingly, she found herself falling for the fallen prince's gentle nature.
Little did she know that the man beside her was the super-rich gentleman she dreamed of marrying.
This story might seem like a fairy tale, a bit Mary Sue, and rather cliché.
However, audiences simply loved this genre of drama. They could watch it endlessly; even after ten to twenty years, such dramas remained mainstream.
The challenge lay in infusing novelty into a familiar story and creating a distinct feel, which heavily tested the director's skill and the actors' acting abilities.
The current filming methods for idol dramas differed from the past, with many scenes being shot out of sequence.
The first scene filmed was a classic, iconic moment, featuring Shan Junhao's appearance.
A foot in a black leather shoe emerged from a car and stepped onto the ground, followed by a suit-clad figure whose imposing presence commanded the scene.
This shot was a classic, constantly imitated but never surpassed.
Jiang Ling was particularly curious to see how Jian Zhou, playing Shan Junhao, would recreate this quintessential scene in a parallel universe.
The greatest principles are the simplest. White best highlights a man's gentleness, while black best showcases his commanding presence.
Chen Mingzhang, well aware of this, ensured that the luxury cars, suits, and leather shoes prepared were all in pure black.