As the Maybach 57S drove on the road, Nazha kept stealing glances at Chen Pingjiang's profile, making Chen Pingjiang feel a bit awkward.
"What are you looking at? Am I that handsome?"
"Yes!"
Nazha nodded vigorously:
"And I feel like you know so much, CEO Cai seems to admire you a lot."
Chen Pingjiang chuckled.
Perhaps because Nazha was only 18, she seemed a bit naive and particularly innocent in all respects.
Sharing the confined car cabin with Chen Pingjiang, Nazha was initially a bit shy and uncomfortable, but gradually she adapted, and her chatterbox opened up.
However, Chen Pingjiang gradually felt that the reason this girl wasn't that popular later on wasn't just because she was a "love-brain" and lacked strong ambition.
On the surface, Nazha's personality seemed very good; she was very gentle and cute, spoke very slowly, and did things cautiously, trying not to trouble others.
It wasn't until she started talking that he realized her previous clumsy silence was merely because she was afraid to speak, because she'd make a mistake as soon as she opened her mouth.
Who could tolerate that?
Her personality was too direct; she often spoke unadorned, straightforwardly, and such frankness could sometimes make people uncomfortable.
For instance, in an interview, she said she wasn't popular because she hadn't encountered good scripts.
As soon as she said this, it immediately drew criticism and questioning from netizens.
She probably didn't realize that such straightforwardness could sometimes step on a landmine in social interactions.
"I heard you're very rich, so how much money do you actually have?"
"You're so handsome, have you had any minor cosmetic procedures? All us artists need them."
"Do a lot of girls like you?"
Chen Pingjiang: "..."
Girl, please stop talking!
A straightforward "love-brain," with full buffs.
"Cough, cough!"
Chen Pingjiang coughed, changing the subject:
"Do you know? A brother of mine, Ma Yingjun, likes you a lot."
"Ah, is it that variety show of mine on Taiwan Island called 'Happy Roll Call'? That one wasn't good, the makeup artist made me look too old-fashioned."
"I wouldn't know about that."
"Oh, then I can give him an autographed photo."
When Nazha smiled, her row of perfectly white teeth made Chen Pingjiang lament that it was a pity she wasn't shooting a Colgate commercial.
The car drove for about half an hour and arrived at the dormitory arranged by Tangren Media for its artists.
"It's still early, do you... do you want to come up for a cup of tea?"
Nazha nervously clasped her hands as she asked, a little afraid to look at Chen Pingjiang.
Chen Pingjiang smiled faintly:
"What tea would I drink with you? Besides, would a girl like you even have that stuff at home?"
"Then... then, I can dance for you, my Uyghur dance is also very beautiful."
Nazha looked at Chen Pingjiang with a hint of expectation in her eyes.
To her disappointment, Chen Pingjiang shook his head:
"Forget it, another time. It's so late, if we, a single man and woman, are caught by paparazzi, not only will you be unlucky, I'll also suffer."
"Oh, alright then."
Watching Chen Pingjiang get into the car and leave, Nazha was a little disappointed.
After getting in the car, Chen Pingjiang chuckled at himself, this Cai Yinong must have lost her mind, sending such a young girl to approach him.
Chen Pingjiang, however, felt that Cai Yinong wouldn't be so foolish as to use such a dirty trick to have Nazha coax him into bed.
It was too cheap, and Nazha was, after all, a freshman in college, not yet so worldly.
But even if Cai Yinong didn't say it explicitly, she must have encouraged Nazha to be a bit more proactive.
This would require Nazha's goodwill towards Chen Pingjiang as a driver; if it were some other greasy old man, Nazha would probably rather die than comply.
Chen Pingjiang wasn't so sex-crazed as to accept anyone who came along, nor did he like this obvious trap set for him.
Of course, Cai Yinong merely wanted to curry favor and get closer to Chen Pingjiang, not actually dare to plot anything.
What kind of women couldn't Chen Pingjiang find?
Would he really go trotting after a young girl just because she waved her hand?
"Chairman Chen, where to now?"
asked Li Fu, who was driving.
"Back to the hotel."
When Chen Pingjiang rushed back to the hotel, Ni Na had already changed into her pajamas and was almost asleep on the sofa.
The sound of the door opening startled her awake.
"Mr. Chen, you're back?"
Seeing Chen Pingjiang, Ni Na was somewhat happy and rushed straight up to hug Chen Pingjiang's waist.
"I haven't seen you in a long time, I miss you so much."
Chen Pingjiang smiled and stroked Ni Na's head:
"Didn't you go out for dinner with Zhao Shaoyang tonight? Why are you back so soon?"
Ni Na nodded:
"CEO Zhao met people from Mango TV and wants me to appear on 'Happy Camp'. The place we ate was close to the hotel, so I walked back alone after it ended. They seemed to have gone to a bar."
That suited Zhao Shaoyang's persona; it would have been strange if there wasn't a second round of activities.
That guy was good at social etiquette and networking; in his position, he only needed to socialize and build relationships.
Wan Yuqian handled all the specific business operations.
"Have you taken a bath?"
"I have, I'll draw your bath for you."
Saying this, Ni Na trotted off to the bathroom.
Chen Pingjiang took off his jacket, then lay down on the soft, large bed, letting out a comfortable groan.
He had been busy running around all day, feeling almost exhausted to pieces.
In a daze, Chen Pingjiang felt Ni Na massaging his temples, her movements a bit clumsy yet gentle.
...
The next day.
As soon as Nazha arrived at the company, Cai Yinong called her to the office.
Although she had passed the art entrance exam for the Beijing Film Academy, new student enrollment wouldn't be until September, and during this time she was making final preparations to head to Hengdian in mid-May to film "Scar of Heaven."
As soon as she arrived at the office, Cai Yinong enthusiastically poured her a glass of water and asked, casually,
"Did you listen to what I said last night?"
"I... I did, I wanted to invite Brother Chen up for tea, but he refused."
"Hmm?"
Cai Yinong's expression was a bit strange:
"He refused?"
"Yes, I just got his WeChat."
After a moment, Cai Yinong added,
"He really refused?"
"Mhm."
"Silly girl, I knew you were smitten yesterday when I saw the way you looked at Chairman Chen. I was originally going to give you some pointers."
At her words, Nazha suddenly felt a bit wronged but didn't know what to say.
Unexpectedly, Cai Yinong then changed the subject:
"However, this morning someone delivered this to the company, specifically naming you to play the female lead."
"Huh?"
Nazha was a bit dazed, initially not reacting, and after a while, her hand trembled, almost knocking over the cup:
"What script?"
Cai Yinong smiled as she handed over a script outline, her eyes full of envy as she looked at Nazha; this girl truly had a good fate.
"Take a look. I've been in this industry for so many years and have never seen a newcomer directly go to the big screen as the female lead without any works right after their debut. This world is indeed crazy, and money truly is omnipotent."
In the film and television industry, there's a chain of contempt: movie actors look down on TV actors, and TV actors look down on reality show contestants.
First, although the film and television circles both belong to the entertainment industry, they have very distinct boundaries, and there's a significant difference in status between the two.
Second, whether you're a box office guarantee or a ratings powerhouse, almost all actors deep down harbor a dream of moving from the small screen to the big screen.
Third, undoubtedly, the transformation of a television actor into a film actor is a painful process.
Fourth, TV actors may not necessarily be good at acting in films, but film actors can handle TV series with ease.
The TV circle and the film circle are inherently two different worlds.
But now Nazha has leaped directly from a newcomer in the TV circle to the film circle, and as the female lead!
That's why Cai Yinong called it absurd.
Reaching out to take the script, Nazha saw the large characters on the cover.
"So Young"
Rather than a script, it was more of a script outline, containing only a story synopsis, character introductions, and the first act.
Nazha read it very carefully.
Cai Yinong also added:
"This story is roughly about Zheng Wei entering university at 18 with high hopes, embarking on her journey of pursuing love and growth, where deep friendships with her roommates become her spiritual solace during times of confusion, while also lamenting the unpredictability of fate. You will play Zheng Wei in the drama."
"The script is still being written, and filming will likely start early next year, which is when you'll be available."
In reality, many actors' statements in interviews like "I took on the role because the script moved me" are pure nonsense.
Few film and television productions find actors and assemble a crew after the script is fully written.
All of them confirm the actors first, then write the script; they also write while searching, and screenwriters must write around the protagonist's temperament and image, rather than fabricating arbitrarily.
Slightly better ones have part of a script written, while worse ones only have an outline.
One wonders how these actors are "moved" by the script.
If they were to wait for the script to be fully formed before finding actors, considering actor schedules, filming would be delayed by at least half a year.
In such circumstances, screenwriters are often pushed to work under immense pressure.
Logically, once all the people are gathered, there should be a complete script by the time filming begins, right? It's really not like that.
In fact, the current reality in mainland entertainment is that filming often begins with only a small portion of the script completed, which is very common in the industry.
Incomplete scripts cannot truly be blamed on screenwriters; producers, to save money and shorten production cycles, aim to make the period from project initiation to wrap-up as short as possible, so screenwriters can only write the script as filming progresses.
By the filming stage, it's essentially a game between the director and the producer.
If the director is well-known, the producer is in a weaker position; if the director is a newcomer, the producer can really tell you to get lost.
As soon as filming starts, tens of thousands of dollars flow out daily.
How to save filming time becomes a major pursuit for producers.
For example, currently, domestic TV series shoot an episode in two or three days, while American series shoot at least one episode a week, also giving actors preparation time.
Because producers demand progress, eight or nine pages of script must be filmed daily.
If progress falls behind for two or three days, the producer will have to talk to the director.
Too much delay will be considered uncooperative, and the director will have to leave.
So, when actors cause delays, directors simply don't have time to argue with them and can only compromise.
For example, Wong Kar-wai took several years to film "The Grandmaster," and the producers had to kneel before Director Wong.
By the time Wong Kar-wai filmed "Blossoms Shanghai," the producers were probably eating porridge and pickles at home every day.
Every production crew has a particularly unique ecosystem, summarized in eight characters: "Big customers bully stores, big stores bully customers."
No one dares to delete or modify a first-tier screenwriter's script, while lesser screenwriters can only swallow their anger; no one can afford to offend big-name actors, for example, no one dares to offend Song Dandan, because TV stations recognize her as a brand.
After reading the script, Nazha asked, both excited and confused:
"CEO Cai, who sent this? I don't know anyone in the entertainment industry."
"Who else could it be? Renren Pictures, of course. They are the producers."
"Ah, is it Brother Chen?"
Nazha wondered.
"You're already calling him Brother Chen, and you still need to ask me?"
"Why would he help me? There's nothing going on between us."
Cai Yinong smiled ambiguously, not exposing her.
In her heart, she wouldn't believe any nonsense about "not even going upstairs."
In her view, those big shots wouldn't show their hand without seeing a clear advantage.
Don't coal bosses also designate actresses for their movies?
Holding the script, Nazha suddenly felt a bit uneasy:
"Can I do it? I'm afraid I won't perform well, and then there won't be any box office."
Cai Yinong smiled and waved her hand:
"The big screen is indeed harder to act on, but you still have time. First, hone your acting skills in 'Scar of Heaven,' then find a teacher for private tutoring after school starts, and before joining the crew next year, there will be a two-month specialized training."
Even after walking out of Cai Yinong's office, Nazha's head was still a bit muddled, unable to understand why Brother Chen was so good to her, as if immense wealth had suddenly rained down on her, almost knocking her out.
After thinking for a moment, Nazha sent Chen Pingjiang a WeChat message.
"Brother Chen, thank you for giving me such a great opportunity. I will definitely not let down your expectations. You're still in Shanghai, right? I'd like to treat you to a meal."
Tangren Media was only so big, and soon the news spread everywhere.
In the artists' WeChat group, chaos erupted.
"OMG, Nazha, how can your luck be so good? You're going straight to the big screen, and as the female lead!"
"Nazha, you must work hard and try to win Best Newcomer."
"I'm so envious that you can act on the big screen, I want to too."
"..."
Nazha stared at the messages in the WeChat group, lost in thought for a moment.
Don't think these artists are exaggerating too much; you must know that every industry has its pyramid, and many professionally trained actors spend their entire lives playing extras.
Crawling is synonymous with the vast majority of people in this industry; it's the norm.
Liu Shishi, Tangren's top actress, hasn't acted in a movie to this day.
Logically, Hu Ge, Tangren's top actor, should be very famous, right?
He has acted in movies, but without exception, they were all low-budget productions, and he was always a supporting actor.
......
When Chen Pingjiang received Nazha's message, he was holding a meeting in his presidential suite.
Executives from Renren Entertainment Group gathered together.
Seeing Nazha's message, Chen Pingjiang didn't reply, he just smiled.
For him, it was just a small matter.
Giving Nazha this opportunity was mainly to save face for his good brother Ma Yingjun from his previous life.
The script for "So Young" was bought as early as mid-last year, with funds from Tianyuan Capital.
Also purchased were the copyrights for TV series or movies produced by multiple film and television companies, all of which would be streamed in the future.
"So Young" was also Renren Pictures' first project.
To make a big splash, Chen Pingjiang spared no expense in poaching a bunch of amazing makeup artists, photographers, and others, and also signed a group of new directors.
"Li Xi, Renren.com needs to set up a movie review section similar to Douban, to handle promotional work after movies are released."
"Zhao Shaoyang, do a good job as producer; first, learn a lot by following Zhan Kai."
"Newcomers in your film and television industry should be humble and learn more, do more, listen more, and speak less."
"So Young" was originally produced by Huashi, distributed by Enlight Media, and directed by the well-known Zhao Wei.
But now, "So Young" has nothing to do with them, and the director has changed from Zhao Wei to another new director—Guo Fan.
At present, Guo Fan was just a second-year graduate student at the Beijing Film Academy; he himself was a bit bewildered, having been inexplicably signed by Renren Pictures.
It must be said that Guo Fan himself was indeed impressive.
After graduating in '03, he went to work at a TV station, having majored in law as an undergraduate.
In '09, he directly passed the entrance exam for the Beijing Film Academy, and his career took off from there.
While studying, he filmed his self-written and self-directed debut film, "Lee's Adventures," which won the Best Asian Film Award at the 16th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in Korea the following year.
His second film after graduation, "My Old Classmate," also won the Grand Jury Prize at the 21st Beijing College Student Film Festival and the Golden Angel Award at the 10th Chinese American Film Festival.
And then there was "The Wandering Earth," which everyone knows about.
"The Wandering Earth 1" grossed 4.686 billion CNY in mainland China, with a global total box office of 700 million USD.
"The Wandering Earth 2" grossed 4.029 billion CNY in mainland China, with a global total box office of 600 million USD.
Crucially, it also ushered in a new era for Chinese sci-fi films.
Wan Yuqian smiled and said:
"You're so optimistic about Nazha? This isn't like you; you never do such risky things. She has no acting experience, no fame, and even if she becomes popular, she'll just be someone from Tangren Media."
As she smiled, the look in her eyes towards Chen Pingjiang was a bit strange.
"Lack of experience isn't an issue, the key is willingness to learn. Let's give her a chance; it's also me fulfilling a promise to an old friend. As for a minor actress from Tangren Media, I genuinely don't care.
How much money can those celebrities earn from commercial performances and endorsements? We either don't do it, or since we've chosen to make movies and TV series, we must do our best and turn it into a golden brand."
Zhao Shaoyang then asked:
"Brother Chen, Ni Na is playing the second female lead in 'So Young,' but you haven't decided on the male lead and second male lead yet, have you?"
Chen Pingjiang spread his hands:
"I've settled on the first and second female leads; for the remaining first and second male leads, it's up to you, Senior Wan."
Wan Yuqian rolled her eyes,
"Mark Chao as the male lead playing Chen Xiaozheng, Han Geng as the second male lead playing Lin Jing. Other supporting roles include Bao Bei, Tong Liya, and Zheng Kai. All these people have already been contacted with their agencies and generally have availability, but some of them will still need to audition before the final casting is decided."
"Also, you definitely won't guess the filming locations. Guo Fan scouted many places and ultimately chose Dongjiang. Our University of Finance and Economics, Dongjiang University of Information Engineering, Dongjiang Medical University, Donghang, and Dongjiang University of Technology were all selected."
(End of Chapter)