Reborn in the Hong Kong entertainment industry in the 1980s

Logically speaking, film production is much faster than television production. Once a project is finalized, filming proceeds at top speed, followed by rapid release. Some films can be completed in just one or two months, and scripts can even be written and filmed simultaneously, reflecting a fast-food culture.

Xinghui follows this fast-food model, which is why their company has released more than 20 movies in just three years.

Hu Xiaoxiao carefully calculated the time; half a year had passed, and the other party still hadn't notified her. Had they changed the female lead or had the project fallen through?

Hu Xiaoxiao picked up her mobile phone and made a call to Zhang Huai.

This time, it wasn't Zhang Huai who answered the phone, but his assistant.

The other party said that Director Zhang was on set and would call her back when he returned.

After hanging up the phone, Hu Xiaoxiao frowned slightly, having a bad feeling.

She waited for two days but did not receive a reply.

At this time, the anniversary celebration of Baogang TV began, and because it was the anniversary, this year's celebration was particularly lively.

As one of the most popular leading actresses on the TV station, Hu Xiaoxiao was assigned an important program and began busy rehearsals.

Charlie brought Hu Xiaoxiao some unexpected good news: "Hu Xiaoxiao, the company still intends to award you the Best Actress award this year."

"Me? Best Actress?" Hu Xiaoxiao was genuinely surprised this time. "Isn't Sister Yu the lead actress in 'The Bund'?"

“That’s right, the original female lead was indeed Jiang Yu. But—” Charlie was completely convinced by Hu Xiaoxiao and said, “You kept asking the director and screenwriter to add more scenes for you. In ‘The Bund,’ your role was already the same as the female lead’s. So for this drama, the company decided to make it a dual female lead production.”

Of course, the company wouldn't do a losing business. After Hu Xiaoxiao's "Mu Guiying" went beyond Baogang, all the TV series she starred in could be sold to regions and countries outside of Baogang. With Hu Xiaoxiao starring in "The Bund," the copyright could be sold even more widely.

This is also good news for Hu Xiaoxiao. It would be even better if she could win another Best Actress award, which would further elevate her status. If she rises even higher, she could compete with Jiang Yu for the top spot.

But to be honest, Jiang Yu's acting skills are much better than hers. Hu Xiaoxiao asked very honestly, "Isn't this unfair to Sister Yu?"

Of course she wants to rise to the top, but she hopes even more that her skills will improve as well, so that any achievement she makes will be convincing to others.

"You're overthinking it," Charlie told Hu Xiaoxiao. "The top male lead, Song Yan'an, and the top female lead, Jiang Yu, have already received lifetime achievement awards, so they won't be competing for the male and female leads."

If the top male and female stars compete for awards, as long as their dramas air that year, no one else will win Best Actor or Best Actress. The company established this award to increase opportunities for new artists to rise to prominence—to increase the competitiveness of the company's artists, not to allow anyone to dominate the television station.

The company's upper management prefers to see fierce competition and a diverse range of talents, and is absolutely unwilling to see the television station controlled by one or two artists.

Hu Xiaoxiao understood. If she wasn't mistaken, this was her last Best Actress award. If she continued to act in TV dramas and the ratings continued to break records, she would receive a lifetime achievement award from the television station.

Hu Xiaoxiao really likes the Lifetime Achievement Award, as it signifies that she has reached the pinnacle of her career and that there are no more awards to be given.

She had researched the awards and knew that those who received the Lifetime Achievement Award were generally industry leaders.

In other words, they are no longer the ones who receive awards, but the ones who judge awards and set rules.

Hu Xiaoxiao felt that she had a new goal in life.

The popularity of the TV series "The Bund" exceeded everyone's expectations. Its popularity is not only due to the star-studded cast, but more importantly, the storyline of Zhao Zhenchuan and Xie Weihua was filmed so well, so excitingly, and the subject matter was so novel.

There have been many TV series and movies about old Shanghai, but most of them focus on the love and hatred of Shanghai gangsters, or the passionate anti-Qing and anti-Japanese themes like Fist of Fury.

The combination of gangster themes, anti-Japanese war elements, and espionage in "The Bund" was unprecedented. Furthermore, the large audience for foreign James Bond films allowed viewers to experience the same tension, excitement, and adrenaline rush they felt watching Bond movies through "The Bund."

Therefore, this drama has received high praise from both industry insiders and outsiders.

Qi Weiming and Lin Yi were also surprised by this result. Their original script did not have many spy elements, but they added more and more later on, because they wanted to give Hu Xiaoxiao more screen time.

Xie Weihua's storyline is closely related to Zhao Zhenchuan. In order to link the two together without affecting the overall plot, many tense and exciting scenes were added. These scenes perfectly complement the espionage theme.

Inadvertently insert willows and willows.

Upon learning of the result, Qi Weiming and Lin Yi were filled with emotion. Qi Weiming, in particular, who was superstitious, became even more convinced that Hu Xiaoxiao was a lucky star, allowing the two old men to reach even greater heights despite their advanced age.

The immense popularity of "The Bund" has inspired many to imitate and follow suit. Not only are film companies considering incorporating spy elements into comedies and action films, but TV stations like Baogang TV are also planning to capitalize on the success by producing a Republican-era spy film to capitalize on the trend.

The TV station director first considered Hu Xiaoxiao as the female lead and invited her to star in the next spy drama.

After hearing their ideas and the general outline of the script, Hu Xiaoxiao wasn't very interested. The female lead was essentially a downgraded version of Xie Weihua.

She's already played this kind of role, why would she want to play a downgraded version? She's not like she was when she first started out, when she would film the same subject matter multiple times just to gain a foothold and make a name for herself.

So she turned down the director.

However, just because she doesn't like it doesn't mean others don't. Other artists who have played roles in "The Bund" are very willing to play the role again, hoping to get another taste of the novel subject matter.

Actors who had significant roles in "The Bund" were particularly favored by the director. You Na gave an excellent performance in "The Bund," and after Hu Xiaoxiao turned down the lead role in a new drama, the director immediately approached her to invite her to star in it.

However, Yuna also refused.

After reading the script with Linda, she felt it would affect Youna's future career path. Furthermore, Linda had prepared a lawyer-themed TV series for Youna, a role that suited her better than imitating Xie Weihua's character.

After Hu Xiaoxiao and You Na both declined, Xia Lu learned of this and actually took the initiative to approach the director to play the role. After careful consideration, and with Qi Weiming's intercession, the director agreed to let Xia Lu play the female lead in the new drama.