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

Chapter 771 Traffic is King, No Limits!

It turns out that the "Miss Republic of China" pageant was indeed a project by iQiyi and a flower arrangement company.

However, after Fan Binbin brought in Hong Kong capital and Alibaba, the project gradually got out of control.

This is normal. A promising film will attract a lot of capital. Some of these investors are looking to make money, some want to promote their own people, and others want to demonstrate the hegemony of capital itself.

As the production company, we are actually happy to see capital investment.

After all, making movies is a gamble; no one can guarantee that their film will make money.

While sharing the risks, introducing capital that is beneficial to the box office can bring more advantages in publicity and distribution, financial support, and technical support.

Currently, online piracy in the Dongda film market is being fiercely cracked down on, and even pirated copies are rarely seen.

However, the film industry has entered an even more brutal phase where the opening week is the decisive battle, and the decisive battle determines life or death.

Ten years ago, due to rampant online piracy, a movie's box office performance depended mainly on its opening week. Once a high-definition pirated version was released online, the box office would plummet!
At this point, the opening week of the film market becomes the decisive battle, a battle that determines life or death, mainly due to piracy.

To ensure box office success, the main measure is to prevent piracy.

In the new era, the "first week is the decisive battle, and the decisive battle determines life or death" relies on content and public opinion!

And the box office rankings, which lead to a box office siphon effect.

The audience determines the life or death of a film.

Good movies are getting higher and higher at the box office, while bad movies die in their opening week!

The reason why Miss Republic of China was able to attract capital was mainly because of Fan Binbin.

However, the person in charge of this project is Shirahama.

She is also a lead actress.

Therefore, the initial concept for Miss Republic of China was a dual-female lead setup.

The director was found by Shirahama.

However, the filming did not go smoothly, and various types of capital poured in.

First, the original director was banned, and he was replaced by Xu Anhua, whom Fan Binbin found.

No one objected to this. With Hsu An-hua directing the Miss Republic of China segment, the capital was also happy to see it happen, and a lot of big shots visited the set during those days.

Not long after, Shirahama's power was greatly reduced, and a powerful director can sideline the producer.

At first, Shirahama didn't feel anything was wrong.

After filming for a while, things started to go wrong. The dual-female lead setup was changed, and Fan Binbin's role became increasingly important, requiring her to spend a lot of time filming.

In addition, they brought in a private screenwriter, upgraded the production team's makeup and styling to a private one, and even raised the quality of the cheongsams to a level that Bai Bin could not match.

This is clearly an attempt to relegate Shirahama to a supporting role.

Bai Bin was unhappy and went to find Xu Anhua, accusing her of making random changes to the script in her capacity as producer.

Hsu An-hua's response was classic: she said she was still finding her rhythm and hadn't decided on the specifics of how to film it yet, and even asked Bai Bin for suggestions.

Upon hearing this, Bai Bin knew that Xu Anhua was letting them fight it out!
As a result, the production team's stance changed drastically.

The two women were vying for attention, exchanging sharp words in what seemed like a perfect rematch!
Fan Binbin's confidence stems from her resources in the Hong Kong entertainment circle, while Bai Bin, though less famous than Zhang Ziyi, has access to resources in South Korea.

Originally, the two women were constantly bickering, but with Xu Anhua keeping them in check, no one dared to really fall out on set. Although the filming was slow, everything proceeded in an orderly manner.

Who knew that a few days ago, Baek Bin brought in actor Song Kang-ho from South Korea.

Song Kang-ho's performance completely captivated Xu Anhua.

Then Xu Anhua naturally took a liking to Bai Bin. Once the balance was off, Fan Binbin got jealous and exploded.

I'm taking sick leave and will not be filming anymore.

She only recovered from her illness and returned to the film set in a glamorous manner after Jackie Chan visited the set.

After that day, Xu Anhua quit, claiming illness and returning to Hong Kong for medical treatment... Before leaving, she specifically told Gong Yu that Bai Bin and Fan Binbin were causing trouble every few days, and she couldn't continue filming. If she couldn't resolve their issues, she would withdraw.

In the entire Chinese-language film industry, there are very few directors who can rival Ann Hui, and her actresses are an even greater force.

If she runs away, wouldn't that tell everyone that Miss Republic of China is in trouble?
So after Xu Anhua left, Gong Yu went to the film crew and talked to the two women separately. He also relayed Xu Anhua's words to the two women, telling them to behave themselves and finish filming the movie in a down-to-earth manner.

who knows……

Before leaving, Xu Anhua told the two women that they must wait for her to come back, as she wanted to make the Miss Republic of China her final film.

Gong Yu then realized that he had been tricked...

The entire world of Miss Republic of China was truly a drama of three women and eight hundred schemes.

The most disappointing thing is the director. Without her subtly guiding the two women to fight, they really wouldn't have dared to do it!

She went too far, creating such a huge mess that she couldn't clean it up herself and had to leave it to others.

Even Gong Yu couldn't handle it...

The two women completely ignored her. If she talked too much, she would say that she felt tightness in her chest and was not feeling well, and that she needed to go to the hospital to see a doctor.

They both have powerful backers, and both women have bad personalities and are not to be trifled with.

Having Li Mingyang save the day is definitely a good idea.

But it's too embarrassing.

He, the CEO of iQiyi, can't even handle two women. If word gets out, he'll become a laughing stock.

After much deliberation, he turned to Zhang Wei for help, asking her to keep it a secret.

After figuring out the whole story, Zhang Wei took the opportunity to deal with the matter of Miss Republic of China.

She was going to the script, which required her to fly from Shanghai, and the crew of the "Miss Republic of China" drama was based in Shanghai.

Zhang Wei originally thought it wouldn't take long.

Who knew that this delay would last for three days.

During this time, the two women staged a vivid drama in the Chinese entertainment industry, leaving her and Gong Yu speechless.

Zhang Wei only needed half an hour to get the two women to compromise, focus on filming, and stop causing trouble.

Then, before she could even leave, she received a lot of phone calls.

With Fan Binbin's friends, partners, and investors behind him, none of them are easy to mess with.

Especially Yanzi, who came in person because she lives in Shanghai.

Bai Bin is also having a lot of trouble. Many people from the company, such as Song Duyuan, Da Peng, Xiao Shenyang, and Li Ming, have called her, asking her to take care of their people.

On one side are capital groups led by Alibaba and Hong Kong investors, and on the other side are the company's top executives.

She was caught in the middle.

Unlike how they treated Gong Yu, the two women didn't ignore her.

Instead, they were playing the victim.

He played the victim while simultaneously listing all her faults and analyzing the pros and cons for her...

The two women's ability to distort the truth is simply amazing!
Zhang Wei and Gong Yu were completely stunned...

Both of them are the kind of people who are pragmatic and realistic.

Faced with the two women's shameless attempt to shift blame, he was speechless for a moment and called someone from the film crew to ask them.

No one dared to say it...

The reason is... despite their feud, the two women are still indispensable to each other.

No one can kick anyone away.

Even if Li Mingyang came, he wouldn't be able to kick either of the two women.

Those working behind the scenes in the production crew understood the situation perfectly well, and no one dared to offend the two women, so they all remained silent.

Later, various investors arrived, including Jackie Chan, Li Meijin, Cai Zhongxin, Yanzi, and Xu Zheng. This situation became completely beyond Zhang Wei's ability to resolve.

He quickly said he was just passing by and ran off to get his notebook, not caring about anything else.

Li Mingyang only learned about this in mid-November.

11 month 15 day.

The filming of Li Mingyang's scenes in "I Am a Passerby" has wrapped up.

Normally, wrap parties are held only after the entire series has finished filming, but Li Mingyang is different.

Li Mingyang single-handedly elevated me, a nobody, to a level that didn't belong to him.

On the day Li Mingyang joined the crew, "I Am Just a Passerby" became the number one trending topic on Weibo!

Since Li Mingyang became famous, he has rarely acted in movies.

However, no one has ever questioned his box office appeal. When Zuo Shandiao wanted to make Lost in Thailand reach 2 billion, he specially brought out Goodbye My Soulmate.

I just believed that Li Mingyang really had box office appeal, and in fact, it was indeed a huge hit.

Even though Lost in Thailand cheated on box office numbers, The Return of the Condor Heroes was still a stunning success.

The title of "King of Traffic" is well-deserved!

When Li Mingyang proposed to play Luo Ji, Zhang Zhao, Wang Jianlin of Wanda, Ma Huateng of Alibaba, and Zuo Shandiao of China Film Group, who initially wanted to cover it up and make it look better, immediately refused to act and directly gave Zhang Yimou and Xu Ke an ultimatum to get out.

To avoid any misunderstanding from Li Mingyang.

The Southern Metropolis Daily once published a special issue listing the directors of Southeast University.

Dongda is a director and actor, and its most bankable stars include Jiang Wen, Zhou Xingxing, Li Mingyang, and Xu Zheng.

Li Mingyang is one of the three!

When this special issue was released, it was met with ridicule and opposition from countless people.

When many celebrities are interviewed and asked to express their thoughts on the Dongda Film Festival, they immediately quote this special issue, criticizing Li Mingyang as a hypocrite who is all show and no substance and not worthy of being compared to Jiang Wen, Zhou Xingxing, and Xu Zheng.

After Li Mingyang won the Palme d'Or.

Slap in the face.

No one dared to bring up this special issue anymore; they all forgot about it.

What Li Mingyang lacked most was fame, and the Golden Palm filled that gap!
I am just a passerby. I used Li Mingyang's popularity to top the trending searches and immediately attracted a lot of capital.

Li Mingyang offered an extremely demanding investment deal, and no one was willing to take it.

He then turned to other members of the production crew.

Li Mingyang single-handedly elevated everyone to a level that was beyond their own.

As the director, Derek Yee naturally benefited the most!

While I'm still filming "I Am Just a Passerby," big names like Alibaba, Tencent, Wanda, and China Film Group have already submitted film contracts.

Those former extras suddenly became highly sought-after. Major talent agencies scrambled to sign them, and once they were done, they immediately started negotiating the length of the actors' work with Derek Yee and Li Mingyang.

Er Dongshen was a little unaccustomed to this and worried that Li Mingyang would lose his temper.

To his surprise, Li Mingyang didn't mind at all and even advised him to take it easy, saying that the entertainment industry in China is no longer what it used to be.

It's a state where traffic is king and there are no bottom lines.

Understand them, accept them, become them, and ultimately transcend them!
Li Mingyang's forward-thinking ideas are beyond doubt; they surpass everyone else's!

His proactive approach immediately triggered a surge of investment, with capital betting on his actors, buying trending topics, packaging, and promoting them.

Sina is doing incredibly well, like it's Chinese New Year, and all sorts of marketing expenses are skyrocketing.

This saved Li Mingyang a lot of marketing expenses.

This is obvious.

Meanwhile, offstage, the box office revenue from "I Am Somebody" was sold to Alibaba for 3 million yuan.

Then Alibaba sold the marketing and distribution package to Enlight Media for 1 million yuan.

The box office revenue was split among Berna, Enlight Media, and Infinite Pictures.

For the publicity and distribution, Li Mingyang and Wang Changtian directly received 90 million yuan, leaving 10 million yuan for publicity and distribution.

Alibaba, no matter how hard they racked their brains, couldn't have imagined that out of a 100 million yuan publicity budget, only 10 million yuan would actually be used for publicity.

How should this ten million be publicized?
Light's ground network release!
This stuff is great for making a good impression!
Just make a few more roll-up banners and posters and put them in the movie theater.

How much does this thing cost?
If you have a good relationship, it's just a matter of a word!
With the maturity of ticket subsidies, cinemas and distributors are the weaker party, while cinema chains and ticket subsidy platforms are the stronger party.

To express his gratitude to Li Mingyang, Er Dongshen specially hosted a banquet at a grand hotel on the day Li Mingyang finished filming.

When the drinks were flowing freely, he went on stage, took out a thank-you note from his pocket, and spoke for more than ten minutes with great emotion and tears in his eyes.

Li Mingyang didn't know whether others were moved.

Anyway, Derek Yee and his two older brothers were very moved, and they hugged each other and cried on stage...

Finally, Derek Yee invited Li Mingyang to star in his next film.

Li Mingyang laughed heartily at this, neither agreeing nor refusing.

If Derek Yee can produce a script that satisfies him, he still wants to collaborate with him.

He is very responsible and also knows how to be flexible.

Li Mingyang filmed with ease.

"Director Li, thank you, thank you! This collaboration has truly broadened my horizons! I feel like I've wasted the past few decades!"

Er Dongshen escorted Li Mingyang all the way to the hotel entrance.

"Times have changed, things have become more high-end, haha... Okay, that's enough for now." Li Mingyang got into the car, rolled down the window, and waved goodbye to Er Dongshen and his two older brothers, Qin Pei and Jiang Dawei.

Qin Pei is a Hong Kong actress whom Li Mingyang greatly admires. Her acting skills are superb, and she can portray both righteous and villainous characters.

If we were to choose Andy Lau's perfect partner, Qin Pei would definitely be the top choice!
The two have incredibly strong chemistry!
Uncle Da and Fat Cat are very different...

The main issue is that the two actresses, Andy Lau and Qin Pei, didn't have particularly memorable roles, while Qin Pei's villainous character was truly unforgettable.

It's a pity I'm getting old.

He was lucky in his later years.

Uncle Da was very unfortunate; he didn't have many years left to live.

To support his family, Uncle Da hardly had any rest throughout the year; he was either filming or on his way to film.

Since being diagnosed with diabetes, my health has been poor, with a constant stream of minor and major illnesses.

In the not-too-distant future, his health will deteriorate further, he will suffer from illness, viral heart disease, and eventually die from a terminal illness.

The last classic that Uncle Da left behind was The Wandering Earth.

Many people could play the role of the grandfather in The Wandering Earth.

But in Li Mingyang's heart, only Uncle Da could bring out the flavor he wanted in his grandfather.

At the same time, it also gives Uncle Da a perfect ending.

I, a passerby, have finished filming. He's now heading to Shanghai to submit a script for a cameo role in Director Jia's "Mountains and Rivers Old Friends".

Then he flew to Yanbei to make a cameo appearance in Jiang Wen's movie.

Initially, the two did not intend for Li Mingyang to make a cameo appearance.

The phenomenal public opinion surrounding "I Am Just a Passerby" made the two men extremely envious. As a partner, Li Mingyang had dragged the three of them into the mess, so naturally he couldn't show favoritism.

We arrived at the Bouquet Hotel in Shanghai around 4 p.m.

Li Mingyang was in a hurry, so he had dinner early with his godmother and Uncle Zhou. During the meal, they talked about Zhou Liang's marriage.

My godmother and Uncle Zhou are now prominent figures in Shanghai and wealthy families in Nanjing.

The biggest worry for the two of them right now is Zhou Liang's marriage.

Actually, they are worried about having grandchildren and want a house full of children and grandchildren.

"Yangyang, do you think Liangliang might have some unspeakable reason? We've introduced him to so many women, but he's not satisfied with any of them," his godmother said.

"You haven't met anyone you like yet..."

"I've met hundreds of people, but I haven't even dated one!" The godmother sighed with worry.

“So many…”

“We don’t care about their family background, we just want someone young and pretty!” Godmother said, opening her phone to show Li Mingyang photos. They were all beautiful, with all kinds of figures, from plump to slender.

The only thing they have in common is that they're beautiful!

“He went on blind dates, and that was the end of it.” Uncle Zhou took a sip of his drink and said, “Our parents have a generation gap with him, and he doesn’t want to talk to us at all. Could you please try to persuade him and ask him about it?”

“I don’t know about the others, but Brother Liang definitely likes women,” Li Mingyang said with certainty.

In his past life, Zhou Liang was tricked by a female internet celebrity and ended up in jail for three years...

The perpetrators were caught red-handed.

Moreover, when he was famous, he had a penchant for flirting with actresses.

In other words, since nobody else cared, Li Mingyang just couldn't be bothered to care.

Hearing Li Mingyang's confident words, Godmother and Uncle Zhou felt much more at ease, and then asked Li Mingyang to help introduce a foreign daughter-in-law, which they could also accept.

Just as Li Mingyang was about to politely decline, his godmother picked up the phone and called Zhou Liang, asking him to come to the hotel and have a few drinks with Li Mingyang.

"Godmother, I'm in a hurry, I can only stay for one hour at most."

"We'll make it in time; Liangliang is nearby."

Okay, so Godmother and Uncle Zhou are being polite first, then using force. They want him to help Zhou Liang with psychological counseling so they can have grandchildren soon.

They don't even care who the father is.

It doesn't matter what's outside of that.

The more the better, as many children bring many blessings.

Before long, Zhou Liang arrived, looking travel-worn and covered in sweat; he had run very hard!
"Brother Li, you've finally arrived." Zhou Liang, covered in sweat, poured himself a glass of wine and went to toast Li Mingyang.

"You'd better not call me Brother Li, just call me Mingyang..." Li Mingyang said with a smile, noticing the strange looks he was getting from his godmother and Uncle Zhou.

"Respect, it's all about respect." Zhou Liang downed a glass of Moutai in one gulp and said heartily.

Li Mingyang smiled and gave his godmother a wink.

"Old Zhou, Sister Qin is almost here. Let's go down and greet her," said the godmother.

Uncle Zhou understood, grunted in agreement, and left with his wife.

My godmother and Uncle Zhou left.

Zhou Liang immediately perked up. He didn't want to stay in the hotel anymore; it was boring. He wanted to go into the entertainment industry.

Zhou Liang is a very talented screenwriter with a very creative mind and strong execution skills.

He had long intended to bring Zhou Liang under his wing, and had specifically spoken to his godmother about it.

But her godmother disagreed, feeling that the entertainment industry was not a place for ordinary people.

Zhou Liang is too naive and not suited for the entertainment industry.

They even stated that their family would not get involved in the entertainment industry and would only run hotels.

His career is in film, which requires creative talent and a broad-minded approach, not nepotism.

Only by treating everyone equally can we go further.

His godmother meant well, and Li Mingyang couldn't refuse, so he had to give up.

"You think you can make it in the entertainment industry? Haha, are you complaining about the hotel and want to end up in jail doing sewing?" Li Mingyang laughed.

"What are you saying? With you protecting me, who would dare to set me up?" Zhou Liang said with a sly smile.

“You’re my brother, of course I want to bring you along, but your mom doesn’t agree!” Li Mingyang patted Zhou Liang on the shoulder and said, “Your parents are desperate for a grandson right now. You need to reassure them first, and then tell them you want to make something of yourself and come work with me. That way, there will be less resistance.”

“I knew it, they had no good intentions,” Zhou Liang said, his brows furrowed.

"What kind of attitude is that? It's like getting married is going to kill you."

Zhou Liang was silent for a while, then drank a full glass of Moutai before saying, "Actually, my parents know who I like, but they don't approve."

Li Mingyang became curious and asked, "Who is it? Could it be Liu Yifei?"

"Pfft... You're kidding me, that's your mother's favorite daughter-in-law."

Zhou Liang spat out a mouthful of wine, wiped his mouth with a towel, and said, "Liu Yifei is really pretty, but there are too many rumors about her. Only your mom doesn't care. My mom cares a lot. Guess who my mom likes?"

"We were talking about your affairs, how did it get turned to me... Liu Shishi?"

"Awesome, you guessed it right on the first try."

"So, who do you actually like that your mom doesn't approve of? I feel like her standards are pretty low, as long as he's pretty."

"All that I said was for nothing!" Zhou Liang said helplessly.

With just a slight shift in his thinking, Li Mingyang guessed who it was, "Bai Bin?"

Bang!
Zhou Liang slammed his hand on the table and gave Li Mingyang a thumbs up, "Amazing! That's her."

are you crazy!

Uncle Zhou's godmother is so pitiful; she struggled her whole life, only to find her son is a cuckold!

(End of this chapter)