In December, Beijing was already in the midst of a cold winter.
The sky was foggy in the morning, with no sun, and even the wind blowing on your face made you shiver.
Xiao He didn't care about prioritizing style over warmth. When he stood under the makeshift stage outside the courtyard, he immediately pulled his down jacket tighter, not giving the cold wind any chance to attack him.
This morning was the opening ceremony, and the first scene will be officially filmed this afternoon, so Xiao He didn't wear much makeup, just did his hair a little.
Once Xiao He was ready, Liu Rulan arrived with Xiao Chen.
The two of them just ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) went to arrange the flower baskets that the studio would be giving away.
This can be considered a social etiquette within the industry. When filming begins, actors or their studios send flower baskets and auspicious words to express their respect for the production team.
The film crews I've worked with before didn't have this much trouble starting filming.
However, every film crew has its own style and atmosphere. Liu Rulan went to the crew in advance to inquire about the situation and found that everyone had prepared some "gifts" of their own. So, in order not to stand out, Liu Rulan also prepared some flower baskets for Xiao He. It was a proper and respectful gesture that did not attract too much attention.
After everyone had placed the flower baskets and stood in the central open space, other people began to stand around them one after another. Most of them were the actors they would be working with next, as well as some staff members.
Meanwhile, a few media outlets and reporters were scattered around the perimeter.
However, perhaps because Xu Youyou's incident yesterday attracted most people's attention, there weren't many media reporters present today. As a result, the entire "Yu Ye" crew's opening ceremony was very simple and low-key. Yan Shaohan went up and said a few words, and then Zhuang Hongyi went up and said a few words. The whole ceremony quickly came to an end.
Of course, these media reporters didn't come for nothing. In the end, the production team still set aside some time for them to ask questions, and then the director answered selectively.
Therefore, the first thing to consider in this process is Xiao He's role as "Yin Qi".
"Director Zhuang, what were your considerations in casting Xiao He as Yin Qi?"
A reporter was the first to ask a question.
“That’s because Xiao He is worthy,” Zhuang Hongyi replied decisively, and then subtly reminded everyone, “Also, I am not the director of the ‘Yu Ye’ production team, so please don’t go astray when promoting it.”
Then, one after another, people asked Zhuang Hongyi for his opinion on Xiao He, and even directly asked Xiao He if he was confident in playing Yin Qi well. Fortunately, everyone was mentally prepared for these questions, so they were not too difficult to answer.
However, the expressions on the other people's faces were more or less complicated.
The production of a manga adaptation is bound to be met with skepticism from the start, and everyone is prepared for that.
However, no one expected that Xiao He would single-handedly withstand most of the criticism in this public opinion storm! As a result, the lives of others became relatively easier, without so much pressure and doubt.
Although there were fewer opportunities to promote myself at this time, and I didn't attract as much traffic, the advantage was that I was safe and secure!
At this point, they'd be the first to stick their necks out, and they're not stupid; naturally, they wouldn't go to the front to draw fire.
So I'm sorry, Xiao He, it all depends on you!
Xiao He was unaware of the complicated feelings of the others. Standing next to the director, he nodded in agreement.
At this point, a reporter shifted the focus to Yan Shaohan: "Director Yan, was Director Zhuang mainly in charge of the auditions for 'Yu Ye'? Are you satisfied with the current casting?"
Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone on and off the stage changed.
Liu Rulan narrowed her eyes, her gaze fixed on the reporter who was looking for trouble, and gave a mocking sneer.
This statement is full of traps! First, it implies that although Yan Shaohan appears to be the director, he doesn't actually have the power of a director. Basically, the production team is Zhuang Hongyi's personal fiefdom, and he has no say in even the casting. Second, it says that Xiao He and several other actors were added after Zhuang Hongyi made capital exchanges, so they are considered to be resource-backed actors inserted by capital.
While the questions asked by others were sharp, they were relatively restrained and did not intentionally lead people astray. However, this person's question had a very obvious tendency to mislead.
This is infuriating.
My concern now is this Yan Shaohan; he speaks carelessly and doesn't understand the deeper meaning behind what's said.
While a person with a clear conscience has nothing to fear, if someone deliberately tries to cause trouble, then there will be a lot of problems.
Even Zhuang Hongyi's smile faded slightly.
"Yes, Director Zhuang basically found all of these actors for me."
As expected, Yan Shaohan was not cunning and spoke frankly.
Immediately, a few flashes of light went off, and the surrounding media reporters began frantically recording and filming. The lead reporter wore a satisfied smile, already envisioning the next trending topic on social media.
【Yan Shaohan publicly confirms his status as a resource-backed actor; "Yu Ye" becomes a game of capital】
【Surfing people in before filming even begins? Is "Sumiya" overconfident, or just prematurely opening up new avenues for entertainment?】
【A resourceful actor from the "Otoya" production team】
【With resource-backed actors rampant, what will become of "Sumi" in the future?】
...
But then Yan Shaohan changed the subject: "The main problem is that I just graduated and don't know any famous people in the industry! If Teacher Zhuang doesn't help me, I'm afraid I won't even be able to find the basic main cast, let alone assemble a production team."
"As for the casting, I was naturally extremely satisfied. I only had one requirement for Teacher Zhuang at the time, which was that everyone in the main cast had to be handsome and have outstanding looks, meeting the average appearance level of my main cast! So look at it now—they are all super eye-catching, high-value actors!"
"Especially Ms. Guo Xinya! She's absolutely my goddess!"
Then Yan Shaohan began to talk at length about his sources of inspiration and his creative process—
The people present: ...
Xiao He lowered his head and rubbed his forehead.
Good, good. Originally, the biggest point of contention in their production team was with him, but now, the criticism on the internet will definitely not be about him anymore.
—But it's about this incredibly unreliable Yan Shaohan!
The lead reporter had no interest in hearing Yan Shaohan's creative ideas. He wore a polite smile, but his mind was elsewhere. Another reporter next to him decisively raised his hand to interrupt Yan Shaohan's "chanting" and continued to ask: "So the focus of casting for 'Yu Ye' this time is on the actors' looks? Then how do you guarantee the quality of the actors and the quality of the work?"
"I believe that many problems can be overcome."
Yan Shaohan said very sincerely, "Those are things that everyone in the crew needs to work together on, but before everything is settled, at least everyone can see that the actors are good-looking."
At least they've already won half the battle in terms of looks!
Everyone: ...Okay, okay, what you say isn't necessarily wrong.
The reporter hesitated, seemingly wanting to speak but ultimately unsure what to say, and stammered, "This, this isn't quite right—"
"Alright, thank you all for coming to our launch ceremony."
Zhuang Hongyi interrupted the reporter, glancing at everyone before raising the microphone and saying calmly, "It's about time, everyone come up for a group photo."
The topic was then awkwardly dropped.
Xiao He could almost foresee how these people would promote their film crew when they got back!
Just the fact that this seemingly unreliable director is a huge fan of good looks is enough for them to come up with different versions.
This is really a headache...
