After all of them were reborn, who would still be an actor?

Chapter 750 Keep it up, I believe in you!
“Producers are an important part of the film industry, but they are not recognized in China. Executive producers are more important than producers,” Zhang Wei said, offering her limited perspective.

“Dongda Film follows the Hollywood and Hong Kong model, retaining both producer and executive producer positions. These two positions have highly overlapping responsibilities. Because there are relatively few excellent producers who understand film, executive producers have gradually replaced producers and become the de facto producers on set. Also, because China prefers to use big-name directors as executive producers, the power of executive producers is sometimes greater than that of directors and producers.” Li Mingyang said, glancing at Zhang Wei and noticing that she was listening very attentively and didn’t seem to have any particularly strong reactions.

"You mean whoever is in charge on set benefits the most?"

"That's understandable."

"In other words, if I were to be your film producer, no matter how high the box office is, it wouldn't matter to me, because everyone only recognizes you."

"Well, so you have to rely on yourself. Relying on me is useless, and you can't even rely on celebrities, because celebrities are the face of the business and have box office appeal. Even the worst box office appeal is still appeal."

Zhang Wei nodded.

"Bouquet Entertainment's low-cost model is perfect for you. You have absolute control, and there are no stars, directors, or producers to steal your credit."

Zhang Wei's eyes flickered slightly, and she glanced down, slipping one hand inside her collar and lifting a corner of it.

Snapped!
Zhang Wei slapped Li Mingyang's misbehaving hand, saying, "I want your celebrity contracts."

"Celebrities are like walking magnets; no matter how you try to stop them, they'll steal your credit."

"I'm just starting out, I need confidence." Zhang Wei lowered her head and took the opportunity to break free from Li Mingyang's embrace.

“No, I have a very important use for you,” Li Mingyang refused.

"More important than me?" Zhang Wei crossed her arms, stretching her gray coat to reveal two full curves that looked very large and bouncy.

Li Mingyang was envious, but he couldn't compromise at this time.

They won't let you kiss them, touch them, or poke them; otherwise, they'll be laughed at.

“You can sign it yourself. You even managed to get Zhao Wenzhuo, that tough nut to crack, so you can definitely handle the others.”

"That wasn't my achievement. It was mainly because you put constant pressure on me in the early stages, and secondly because of the huge financial cost. I needed cheap and effective celebrities."

"Don't even think about messing with the Koreans."

"why?"

Korean celebrities are dedicated, inexpensive, and have high popularity, and they don't cause as many problems.

Good quality and low price!
Domestically... cannot be mentioned.

During the honeymoon period of Sino-Korean cooperation, domestic film and television companies loved to use Korean stars, they used them like crazy, simply because they were good and cheap.

Even though Korean stars' salaries are eight or ten times higher than those in China, they are still cheaper than domestic stars.

Much cheaper!

However, the honeymoon period of cooperation between China and South Korea did not last long, and countless companies collapsed due to the ban on Korean entertainment, with no hope of a bright future.

To be honest... I've experienced both the dedication and cheapness of Korean celebrities.

Li Mingyang looked at the skyrocketing salaries of actors in China and the ungrateful actors.

It hurts so much.

You only know what it's like if you've experienced it.

It's addictive.

Moreover, with the backdrop of the Sino-Korean alliance, once Zhang Wei tasted success, there was no stopping her; she could lose money hand over fist!
"Since you want to acquire cultural and tourism rights, you need to cultivate domestic stars. Stars are also regional. Good luck, I believe in you."

Zhang Wei frowned and thought for a moment, then nodded firmly, her spirits returning.

……

When the storm comes.

No one knows how long the storm will last or what kind of chain reaction it will cause.

9 month 15 day.

Wang Piku posted a lengthy Weibo post announcing his divorce.

On the same day, Asian pop diva Princess Wang also announced on Weibo that she and Li Yapeng had ended their marriage.

A short 16-character Weibo post reads: "Our marriage has come to an end in this life. I'm fine, take care of yourself."

They managed to push Wang Feng off the top of Weibo's trending topics list.

The whole nation is watching this, causing a huge sensation!

In the shadows, he is the Sun Wukong of the Chinese entertainment industry, a new chaebol of the Korean entertainment industry, an Asian Palme d'Or-winning director, a mainland director with two billion-dollar box office hits, and the pinnacle of Korean cinema.

Li Mingyang, who has achieved great success in both art-house and commercial films, signed a pile of documents in the courtyard and left the mountain ahead of schedule.

Li Mingyang solved Zhang Wei's problem by using both coercion and enticement to get her involved in the booming business of the flower bouquet group.

However, to his surprise, Wang Changtian wanted to relax and take a break because he had psychological problems.

He handed the light over to Li Mingyang and took the whole family on a trip...

This unexpected event caught Li Mingyang off guard, but it also brought joy to a host of film companies across the country.

The three major listed film companies in China's entertainment industry—Huayi, Bona, and Enlight Media—are all on the table.

Enlight Media is the leading film and television company in mainland China with the highest market value, reaching 40 billion!

Founder Wang Changtian lost his spirit, and Enlight Media's stock price continued to fall. Even when Li Mingyang stepped in to take charge, he could not reverse the decline.

The market is not optimistic about Li Mingyang taking the helm of Enlight Media.

Because Enlight Media is a family business, it's a problem whether they can manage internal affairs well, let alone external ones.

Those who know Li Mingyang know that his thinking and methods are very different from those in the Chinese entertainment industry. As the head of Enlight Media, everyone has questions about whether he can handle the relationships between major production companies, cinemas, and media.

If not handled properly, Enlight Media's distribution network will collapse!

Li Mingyang did not disappoint everyone... He indeed mishandled the situation, breaking up the great power that Wang Changtian had given him and distributing it among the imperial relatives.

Stay out of it.

Enlight Media's stock price plummeted to its daily limit on the same day...

After its market value fell to 320 billion, it stabilized.

The reason is that a set of photos of Wang Changtian, Jack Ma, Little Ma, and Li Yanhong riding horses together on the Dali Cloud Grassland appeared on Weibo.

The three major shareholders of Enlight Media personally stood up for the company, stabilizing its stock price.

2013 was the year when the BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) concept was just taking shape, and the internet began to overshadow the real estate industry.

Baidu's market capitalization is 2900 billion yuan, exceeding Alibaba's valuation of 2500 billion yuan.

Tencent became the first Chinese internet company to surpass the $1000 billion market capitalization mark!
A milestone!
With Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba all lending their support, this sudden surge directly stabilized Enlight Media's stock price!
It was at this time that Li Mingyang realized that among the three major film companies, as the companies that were on the table, it would be extremely difficult to bring down any one of them.

Every company has tasks to complete.

Bernard... Li Mingyang hasn't seen Yu Dong in a long time. This guy is trying to get back to China and make a fortune in the financial film industry.

Li Mingyang felt that even though he had succeeded, his plans had probably collapsed.

Huayi... as a leading brand in Beijing's entertainment circle, leverages celebrity IPs to lead countless business owners into the film and television industry.

Next, they need to cater to the convergence of China and South Korea and pave the way for the Korean Wave.

Enlight Media has made significant investments and contributions to cultural tourism, and its investment in the animation industry is unparalleled.

Basically, as long as they don't cause any major problems, they will have the support of capital.

That's how light works.

Li Mingyang felt that Huayi was difficult to deal with, so he could only let the three big names in the Chinese entertainment industry, BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent), handle Huayi.

The collapse of Sohu, the avalanche of Huayi Brothers, the scandal of LeTV, and the downfall of Kuaibo are all essentially the same thing.

It's blocking the way for BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent).

As the largest capital players in the Chinese entertainment industry, the three-way battle for supremacy is essentially an internal struggle among the three companies.

When they realize this is harmful to them, they will unite and destroy it!
Then the infighting continued.

They realized that internal strife was pointless, and no one was willing to back down; they were all too resilient.

So they began to formulate new rules for the game, rules that were in everyone's best interest.

The first downturn in the film and television industry was actually caused by the excessive expansion and arrogance of celebrity capital.

Following the mask trend, iQiyi, Youku, and Tencent Video have introduced new ways to play.

However, tragedy struck.

The unavoidable downturn in the film and television industry has left the domestic entertainment sector in a mess.

The Chinese entertainment industry used to learn from Hong Kong, and later from Hollywood.

In reality, they're all just different names for the same thing, and in the end, they've all developed their own unique characteristics.

Weathering With You was a huge hit, opening the door to the industrialization of film and television.

He once thought about formulating a new set of rules to develop the film and television industry at Dongda University.

Ultimately, because he had to leave, he ran away to South Korea without any further developments.

Then in South Korea, he discovered that the South Korean elites who were praised as gods in mainland China were actually inferior to his own people.

He once again expressed his utmost admiration for the Chinese entertainment industry.

To shirk responsibility, they directly extol others as gods... How is this any different from the Japanese slapstick comedy of kneeling down at lightning speed?
They used professional rhetoric to deceive amateurs, portraying the Eight-Nation Alliance as divine and depicting the enemy as glorious and great.

What kind of mentality is this?
In ancient times, he would have been accused of disrupting morale and executed long ago.

Short dramas once embarked on a path towards high-quality production, but ultimately failed to achieve their goal.

It has embarked on a path monopolized by platform industrial assembly lines.

Short dramas are not inherently part of the domestic entertainment industry; they were created by a group of outsiders.

Just like Mao Zedong's swindler.

That's too good. Where did all those trashy things come from before...? Isn't this just slapping yourself in the face?

Li Mingyang returned to China standing up after receiving the Palme d'Or. He originally wanted to do some big things, such as accelerating the industrialization of film and animation, and using his influence and capital to set rules for the industry...

As he went up and down the mountain, he realized something: he was very capable, but he couldn't change the circle he belonged to.

During his absence... far too much capital has entered the Chinese entertainment industry.

This capital originated from financial films and film and television concept stocks, and much of this capital still exists today, though ordinary people can't even see its shadow. Li Mingyang even saw many familiar names.

Netizens criticized the Chinese entertainment industry for having many "ugly kids" of capitalists, saying that everyone, regardless of their background, wants to get into the entertainment circle.

This is actually a systemic issue.

The Chinese entertainment industry is too comfortable, too easy to navigate, there's too much capital, too many paths...

Korean entertainment can structurally manipulate a star to the point of near death.

The Chinese entertainment industry can't do that.

Hollywood can make a star kneel and act like a dog with money.

Even the Chinese entertainment industry can't do that.

Celebrity IPs have become the biggest bargaining chip for capital to tell stories, making them too reliant on and without alternatives!

At a high-level meeting of Tencent Video, the most frequent complaints were about celebrities; everyone seemed to have lost their mystique.

During meetings, they would go on a rant, complaining about who runs a casino at home and who hosts parties at hotels.

So-and-so's assistant is a personal assistant, in charge of their lower body.

So-and-so is hard to please.

So-and-so leaves work on time; they're not professional at all.

At this time, Li Mingyang especially liked to talk about a certain finance person, to get benefits for his idol, and to grant any request.

A certain high-ranking official is a longtime friend of the actor's agent, and they work together on the fan economy.

A certain mid-level manager, under the guise of recruiting for a film crew, was actually throwing a party at his villa.

A certain high-ranking official, in cahoots with the talent agency, slept with all the newcomers.

They're all a bunch of bastards.

Later, a job rotation system, various KPI assessments, internal whistleblowing, and internal anti-corruption measures were introduced...

Useful, but not much.

Each high-ranking official has their own faction within the entertainment industry; there are just too many factions.

If Tencent Video can't even solve its own problems, then solving the problems of the Chinese entertainment industry is pure nonsense.

The Chinese entertainment industry gradually evolved into a three-way struggle between platforms, companies, and celebrities.

Celebrities are at the heart of this struggle.

This resulted in the fact that even during the film and television industry downturn, the Chinese entertainment industry was doing very well, with Hollywood stars looking like nobody else.

Let's not even talk about big stars.

Let's talk about third- and fourth-tier cities.

A-level drama on the platform.

Actors who are around the second male lead usually have RVs. Having an RV means they can have their own resting space. When filming requires waiting, the actors can get in the RV and enjoy the air conditioning, regardless of winter or summer. It's not the actors who have to suffer from the cold or the sun, but rather...

The lower the rank of the employee, the more sun and cold they get.

Well-known artists usually sign contracts guaranteeing a certain number of working hours per day.

Well-known celebrities all guarantee a certain number of working hours and include a clause in their contracts stating that they will not work overtime.

Celebrities are generally not allowed to stay up all night.

Of course, there are also those who work all night, like Guo Jingming's crew. This guy is incredibly slow and procrastinates when filming, and Li Mingyang sometimes can't even figure out what he's dragging his feet on...

No preparation work was done in the early stages.

Novelists should theoretically have vivid imagery in their minds, but he didn't.

He's actually quite traditional, working things out little by little on the spot.

One scenario is that filming is nearing completion and overtime is required, so the only solution is to offer extra money to curry favor with the artists and ask them to cooperate with the schedule.

One type is where the production team is terrible at coordinating and making poor arrangements, so the stars have no choice but to endure it. However, the artists are given rest time the next day and can start work a little later.

Most of the films shot in Hengdian are period dramas or Republican-era dramas. Makeup for period dramas takes a long time, usually around two hours, and the makeup time for actors is also counted as part of their working hours.

Famous actors in film crews usually have a team of eight or more nannies who follow them wherever they go.

One person was carrying an actor's chair, another a script, another a cell phone, one was doing makeup, another a costume, another a bodyguard, and a few other miscellaneous tasks. Cell phones were not allowed at work.

One or two hours before the male and female leads come out to film, their stunt doubles will go to test the lighting and camera angles. Only after the director is satisfied with the test will the actors get out of the trailer.

Note that it is the artists who get out of the RV. This means that when the temperature reaches 40 degrees Celsius or drops to several degrees below zero, the staff are outside exposed to the wind and sun, while the artists are inside the RV enjoying air conditioning.

Many shots use stand-ins whenever possible. Since the same scene needs to be filmed in both long shot, medium shot, and close-up, the artists can take a break whenever the camera distance and angle are changed.

Because there were so many cameras, the lighting and everything else had to be checked again. While the cameras were being moved and repositioned, the artists went to rest.

This is why assistants usually carry an actor's chair with them, because they need to sit down whenever needed.

For some close-up shots, if the shooting is quick, it takes about ten minutes. After shooting, the camera needs to be set up again immediately. Setting up the camera position, checking the angle, checking the lighting, adjusting the reflectors, and having the stand-in test the shot takes another several tens of minutes. During this time, the artist continues to rest.

So 208 was really free at the scene, he could even play a few rounds of King of Glory with friends.

So during breaks, everyone has one or more mobile phones.

We can go back to the RV even when the production crew makes arrangements or schedules us.

Some celebrities eat alone in their RVs and generally don't eat with other actors.

The film crew's boxed lunches were also divided into those for extras, staff, and the director.

Anyway, celebrities usually have their drivers or assistants pick up their orders from other places, and some celebrities order takeout from their hotels.

Some celebrities have their parents cook for them; this is more common among female celebrities.

Then all sorts of messy accounts were put on the production crew's shoulders.

This includes the food, clothing, accommodation, transportation, five-star hotels, lavish meal allowances, and travel expenses for accompanying personnel...

Those who can stay on set regularly can already be considered dedicated.

The standards for professionalism in the Chinese entertainment industry are so low it's unbearable to watch.

Basically, being able to stay on set during the contracted working hours is considered being dedicated.

Whether or not you're filming on set, or whether or not you're reading the script... that's not important...

After get off work, celebrities have plenty of time to party, go to bars, gamble, choose concubines, frequent clubs, meet male models, and accompany sugar daddies—plenty of leisure time.

Reading the script?
They're all scripts written for the moonlight, and very few people actually read them carefully.

The actors complained that the production team started filming too hastily, unlike in the past when they would prepare for months or years in advance.

There's no time to read the script, ponder the script, immerse oneself in the character, or experience life.

The actors are so bored on set they could practically smoke.

With so much time spent preparing and all that energy put into socializing, what kind of acting skills could one possibly have!

Acting is actually the profession that relies most on talent!

Many actors aren't actually that dedicated, but they're just naturally gifted.

For example, veteran actors.

What I fear most are actors who have popularity but no ability, no talent, are not good-looking, don't work hard, and cause a lot of trouble.

And all of these popular actors ended up like this...

Then the fans went wild with praise...

Chinese entertainment, Korean entertainment, Indian entertainment, Japanese entertainment, Hollywood... all have their own advantages and disadvantages, but they all have one thing in common.

That is, they are all working to solve the problem of high salaries for celebrities.

The Chinese entertainment industry is the biggest failure!
This is a structural, systemic, and social problem involving deception and cover-up.

Mingyang Entertainment, 9th floor.

Li Mingyang stood in front of the bookshelf, gazing at the two highest honors of his life.

One is the Best Screenplay Award in the New World, and the other is the Palme d'Or for Best Film in Miss Die Hard.

In the mobile internet era, without spending money on marketing, his Palme d'Or has faded from the public eye.

But its enormous influence remains.

This thing is a double-edged sword.

Actually, there are quite a few geniuses like him in Europe and America... it's just that he's too different in Asia.

In Europe and America, there are plenty of people making movies in their teens, a lot of people sweeping awards around the world in their twenties, and countless people achieving fame and success by the age of thirty!

Meanwhile, domestic directors are only just starting out at thirty...

Foreigners won't tolerate workplace manipulation on Chinese entertainment production teams, no matter who you are.

Lao Tzu wrote, directed, and starred in all of these works; all achievements belong to Lao Tzu.

If I fail, I can just jump off a building, or go home and inherit the family business; that's it.

Wait your hell!
"The Hollywood approach doesn't seem to work very well either," Li Mingyang shook his head.

"The producer system created by Ning Hao's '72 Transformations Plan' has too much of a suppression on new directors; it's just a binding of interests."

"The Korean entertainment industry is actually based on the philosophy of 'entertainment to the death'..."

"Netflix's system is actually an outsourcing model used by Hollywood."

Li Mingyang racked his brains but couldn't come up with a way to help the newcomers at Bouquet Entertainment rise to prominence quickly without leaving any hidden dangers.

He values ​​loyalty precisely because he's too suspicious...

He finds it hard to trust others now.

Li Mingyang stood in front of the bookshelf, racking his brains, but even after Zhang Wei notified him of a meeting, he still couldn't come up with a good solution.

Today is the 18th, the fourth FBTV joint meeting.

(End of this chapter)