Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 27: Etiquette and Ex-Girlfriend's Best Friend

The reason why Yan Li wants to play Dapeng is simple: he has more scenes than Wu Tian.

Although he only glanced at the script briefly, Yan Li had already made a certain judgment.

Wu Tian is more like a clue character. He died in the first episode. The rest of the episode is filled with flashbacks of his grievances with Liu Huaqiang and others. The plot is relatively fragmented and short.

Dapeng is different. He has been following Liu Huaqiang and has a role from the first episode to the last.

In this case, Yan Li would definitely choose the one that has appeared more times and is easier to be remembered.

In addition, the character Wu Tian is profit-driven, ruthless and ungrateful, which Yan Li doesn't like very much.

He doesn't mind having a villain, but he definitely prefers one that suits his taste.

For example, Dapeng is filial to his mother and loyal. After recognizing the eldest brother Liu Huaqiang, he will do whatever his elder brother tells him to do and he is not ambiguous when it comes to taking action. Although he has gone astray, in some ways he can be regarded as a man of affection and righteousness.

"Xiao Yan, you are still too young."

Gao Qunshu forced a smile on his chubby face and began to persuade: "When choosing a role, you can't just look at the amount of scenes you have. What's important is whether it's outstanding."

Yan Li acted like a good student: "Please teach me."

"Look, although Wu Tian's role isn't very big, he has several key scenes that are important and crucial to the early plot, leaving a deep impression."

"This character's personality is not likable, but it is vivid and distinctive. There are many loyal people in the play, and few who are not loyal, so the character contrast is strong."

"Wu Tian's role is relatively independent, and he is the core of the show. Dapeng can't compare to him in this respect. He has always been Liu Huaqiang's younger brother, suppressed by the boss, and his presence is limited, not to mention that there is Jinbao next to him."

"..."

Gao Qunshu was not afraid of the trouble and gave Yan Li a thorough analysis.

There is no way. The crew of "Conquest" has no shortage of fierce-looking and ruthless guys, but handsome guys who can act and have low pay are rare.

Before, Gao Qunshu hadn't thought about looking for a particularly handsome actor, but after Yan Li's audition, he thought more and more that he was suitable.

In the drama "Conquer", Wu Tian was originally an ordinary employee of a TV factory. Later, he was spotted by Li Li, a colleague with channels, and they started a business together, and gradually became friends.

He has already decided on the actress for Li Li, Jiang Shan, a now somewhat out-of-date actress.

The two had a good relationship, Jiang asked for a friendship price, and became one of the few famous actors in the "Conquest" crew.

After all, we also have to consider selling the drama, and with well-known actors in charge, the distribution will be much smoother.

Jiang Shan was also a famous beauty back then. She charmed countless men with the movie "Get High".

Although her appearance and figure are not as good as they used to be, she is still middle-aged. If the young man she likes is ugly, it will be unconvincing.

After Gao Qunshu's persuasion, Yan Li was shaken.

What made Yan Li even more shaken was that Gao Qunshu took out the photo of his favorite actor Dapeng.

Yan Li was convinced at first sight. The man had such a good image, as if he had just been released from prison.

This kind of person is born to play a gangster and murderer. No matter how good other people's acting skills are, they cannot match their extraordinary talent.

Moreover, what Gao Qunshu said did make some sense. More importantly, Yan Li could see that the director preferred him to play Wu Tian.

As a new actor, choice is a luxury.

The director has been very considerate in his persuasion and explanation, and has given sufficient reasons. Let's just go down the slope when there is a way out.

"Okay, Director, you're doing this for my own good. I'll do as you say."

Yan Li acted as if he was saying, "I respect Director Gao very much. Since Director Gao has spoken, I will listen even if I am not satisfied." This made Gao Qunshu feel a little embarrassed.

This child is a kind person!
Because of this kindness, Wu Tian’s original salary of 3000 yuan was increased by another 500 yuan.

Yan Li accepted the 500 yuan, but turned around and enthusiastically invited Gao Qunshu and the introducer, Brother Liu, to have dinner with him.

Even with the meal, drinks, bath and massage, not only did Gao Qunshu lose the 500 yuan in remuneration, but Yan Li also had to pay him another 200 yuan.

However, Yan Li did not feel sad. If "Conquest" became a hit, director Gao Qunshu's reputation would naturally rise as well, and he might even become a famous director.

Establish good relationships in advance, and they'll be thinking of you when they have something interesting to offer, and you'll make a lot of money back on the few hundred dollars you spent. Sure enough, after this trip, Gao Qunshu had a very good impression of Yan Li.

The young man is kind, sweet-spoken, and open-minded. There are not many newcomers in the circle who are so sensible.

Seeing that the relationship was almost established, Gao Qunshu was in a good mood, and Yan Li also mentioned it to him at the right time.

"Director Gao, I have a classmate from Beijing Film Academy who's an even better actor than me and has great respect for you. Could you please come play a role in our crew? The pay and everything else is negotiable."

Gao Qunshu was enjoying a massage, and upon hearing this, he laughed and scolded, "You're quite good at hitting the snake with a stick, kid. Give me a buy-one-get-one-free deal."

Seeing that Gao Qunshu was not disgusted, Yan Li felt relieved and chuckled.

"Isn't it because you, Director Gao, take care of me? How could I dare to ask for this from anyone else?"

When interacting with others, don’t be afraid to bother them. Appropriately making a simple request can satisfy the other person’s sense of being needed. If handled properly, it can actually strengthen the relationship between you.

This is something Yan Li saw in a book on success, it’s called the Franklin Effect.

It is not clear whether it is useful to others, but Gao Qunshu feels comfortable being praised by Yan Li and is quite fond of it.

"Bring it over later, but I can't guarantee the pay or the role."

Most of the characters in "Conquer" have been decided now, otherwise Yan Li would have more options.

Now that Yan Li has assigned the role of Wu Tian, there are even fewer roles left, all of which are minor supporting roles or even special guest roles.

Yan Li didn't care. He asked for this role for Zhou Yiwei. No matter how many scenes he had, at least he was filming in a serious crew, which was better than the odd jobs he took.

If Zhou Yiwei doesn't like it, Yan Li didn't mention the name anyway. There are many students in the class who don't have any movies to shoot, so there will definitely be some who are willing to come.

After the entertainment was over, Gao Qunshu was sent to the car. Yan Li hugged Brother Liu, whose face was flushed from drinking, and took out a red envelope prepared in advance and stuffed it into his trouser pocket.

Brother Liu quickly refused, but Yan Li was firm: "The rules cannot be broken. I'll have to trouble you to take care of me in the future."

After a while of wrangling, Brother Liu accepted it reluctantly, but the smile on his face was very sincere.

"You've got the right name, it's very elegant. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out for any good crews in the future."

"Okay, I'll wait for your good news."

After seeing Brother Liu off, the show finally ended. Yan Li did the math and found that out of the 3500 yuan salary for "Conquer", half of it was gone after treating guests and receiving red envelopes.

If he hadn't known that the show had the potential to be a hit, he wouldn't have done such a losing business.

Instead of taking a taxi, I took the bus back to the Jimenli community where I rented. As soon as I entered the door, I saw Guan Yue sitting at the dining table and gnawing on a pig's trotter.

Guan Yue, a student of the 2000 undergraduate class of the Performance Department of Beijing Film Academy, is also the classmate, roommate and best friend of Yan Li’s ex-girlfriend Dong Xuan.

Zhou Yiwei also knew him, so Yan Li was not surprised at how Guan Yue got in.

Seeing that she didn't even say hello when she saw him come in and was still gnawing on the pig's trotter, Yan Li raised his eyebrows.

"Braised pig's trotters are 25 yuan per pound. Leave some money for later."

"It's to rob money."

Guan Yue finally paid attention to him this time. Before she even swallowed the meat in her mouth, she started to argue: "Pork is only a few yuan per pound, and you're selling a pig's trotter with only bones for 25?"

"My braised meat is worth the price."

Yan Li believes that you get what you pay for. With carefully selected ingredients + secret braised meat recipe + Beijing's prices, he feels that this price is fair. Even if he doesn't understand the market and misjudges the price, it won't drop too much.

Good things have to be sold at a high price. If they are sold cheaply, it would not only be unfair to the system, but he would also feel uncomfortable.

Guan Yue wanted to refute, but the taste in her mouth told her that what Yan Li said made sense.

There is really nothing wrong with this braised pig's trotter except that it is expensive!
Thinking this in his heart, his tone weakened a lot, but in an instant he became confident and righteous: "After all, I have passed a lot of words between you two, but it is not worth the money for two pig's trotters."

Yan Li said with a forced smile: "Then tell me, who spread the rumor to Dong Xuan that I was having an affair with my junior schoolmate, and then instigated her to break up with me."

Guan Yue was shocked: "Old Dong betrayed me!"

(End of this chapter)