Chapter 1003
Extra: Li Zhi, the Arrogant Guy
“Li Zhibai is a loyal friend. If you want to get him to star in your project, you’d better get a director, screenwriter or other actor who has worked with him and has a good relationship with him first.”
In the entertainment industry, this is how people talk about Li Zhibai.
"The spin-off movie of 'The Gold Rush' is about Yan Liang getting rid of Li Zhibai with just one sentence."
"Liu Manbo ruined the reputation of 'Nineteen Years,' yet Li Zhibai still supported his 'Flying Grass' project, did you know that?"
"You know what, director Li Daoxing, who previously collaborated with Li Zhibai on 'Moonlight Symphony,' had a project he'd always wanted to do but no platform was willing to fund. It was about traditional Chinese medicine, and in the end, Li Zhibai invested ten million in it. You didn't expect that, did you?"
……
"Brother Su Yang, we can't do this event without Li Zhibai's attendance. Please, please help us get him here, okay?"
A fashion event in December was met with a lukewarm reception this year, as the organizer changed editors-in-chief and the magazine itself wasn't a top-tier publication. The usual bustling guest list was surprisingly low, with only a handful of A-list celebrities invited.
The other party contacted Lin Suyang, wanting to deal with Li Zhibai.
There needs to be at least one top-tier superstar to support it.
Lu Yanhe and the others really didn't have any availability that day; they had already inquired about it, but Li Zhibai did.
Logically speaking, Lin Suyang should not have allowed Li Zhibai to accept such an activity that would "lower his own status".
But the editor they contacted had interviewed Li Zhibai multiple times and written feature reports about him. Since it was someone they knew well, they couldn't just coldly stick to a business-like approach—that would be a major taboo.
Therefore, Lin Suyang still took it to Li Zhibai and discussed it with him.
"How about we go and support them?"
"Sure." Li Zhibai nodded without hesitation for a second, "Anyway, there are no other arrangements."
Seeing that Li Zhibai agreed so quickly, Lin Suyang thought for a moment and still reminded him, "There aren't many A-list celebrities attending this event."
Does this matter to me?
Lin Suyang shook his head.
"That's fine then." Li Zhibai shrugged. "It's just a platform."
On the day of the event, Li Zhibai witnessed firsthand what it meant to be "a tiger fallen into the plains and bullied by dogs."
Having attended so many fashion events, this was the first time Li Zhibai had ever seen a team of relatively unknown artists "blackmail" the event organizers.
Tian Ling, a rising starlet who has been heavily promoted by the platform in the past two years, is not very famous. However, she has been repeatedly included in the list of "rising stars" based on several works produced by the platform. As a result, she has presented a false prosperity of "near-first-tier" status without having a representative work.
Based on this false prosperity, she made a proposal to the magazine—
Have the magazine do the legwork and act as a go-between—
She was going to walk the red carpet with Li Zhibai.
Otherwise, she wouldn't attend the event.
Artists who dare to demand exorbitant prices on the day of an event are generally ignored, and all future collaborators will be blacklisted.
The magazine couldn't find anyone to support them, so they had to swallow their pride and work on Tian Ling.
Tian Ling's team is very assertive, having accurately identified the magazine's current "weakness," and is determined not to budge.
“If you can get Li Zhibai here, you can handle this matter.”
Unreasonable yet resolute.
The magazine did not actually submit this application to Li Zhibai's team despite Tian Ling's unreasonable request.
Other magazines aside, fashion magazines are the media outlets closest to the entertainment industry.
They are very clear about the hierarchy among artists.
If Tian Ling wasn't trying to ride on Li Zhibai's popularity, why would she make such a request?
However, by the same token, why should Li Zhibai agree?
If Li Zhibai readily agreed to come and support the event, ensuring that the magazine wouldn't be left without a big name to command respect, then the magazine would truly become a laughing stock in the industry and among the public.
They were reluctant for Tian Ling not to attend, but they were even less likely to create any possibility that would prevent Li Zhibai from attending.
Only a madman would do that.
Lin Suyang heard the news from other artists' teams.
Someone eventually contacted Lin Suyang and asked if Li Zhibai would walk the red carpet with Tian Ling that night. Only then did Lin Suyang learn about this.
The other party's artist will also be attending this event tonight.
The other party contacted Lin Suyang with the intention of "if Li Zhibai really needs a female companion on the red carpet, instead of partnering with Tian Ling, why not partner with my artist?"
Lin Suyang told Li Zhibai about it.
Li Zhi asked speechlessly, "Who is Tian Ling?"
"A rising star who's emerged in the last two years," Lin Suyang said. "She auditioned for 'Fast & Furious' before, but was eliminated in the second round."
Li Zhibai: "Alright."
He was speechless and helpless.
Such incidents have occurred almost continuously since his debut.
When he was a teenager, some female celebrities wanted to create scandals with him.
Lin Suyang: "She's bold and daring, and not afraid of being criticized."
For Lin Suyang, Li Zhibai is now his most precious treasure.
He himself hesitated and thought carefully before using Li Zhibai's resources to exchange opportunities for other artists under his management, fearing that it would bring some negative consequences to Li Zhibai. Every attempt to "piggyback" on Li Zhibai's resources was made with caution and foresight. He wondered if those outsiders still wanted to take advantage of Li Zhibai.
What a joke!
Lin Suyang was also aware of the magazine's current predicament.
Adhering to the principle of "making a strong impression," he directly called Tian Ling's agent.
"What are you trying to do? Are you just trying to freeload?"
Tian Ling's agent was stunned when he received the call.
They contacted the magazine, not you, Lin Suyang. Why are you suddenly calling me, bypassing the magazine?
Still resorting to intimidation tactics?!
"President Lin, we—"
"Think carefully about what you're going to say," Lin Suyang said in a menacing tone.
The other party immediately fell silent.
I dared not speak again.
Li Zhibai's arrogance was confined to the media and his fans. However, as time went on, the shrewd entertainment industry gradually figured out Li Zhibai's true nature, realizing he's actually a loyal and devoted person. If you've worked with him and have a good relationship, maintaining that connection is like gaining the friendship of a top-tier superstar. And this kind of friendship from a top star can truly be "monetized," just like this recent appearance.
When many people thought they had Li Zhibai's weakness and began to approach him, they discovered that it wouldn't work; there was a fierce and menacing figure beside Li Zhibai.
Lin Suyang's fierceness and ruthlessness are well-known in the industry.
Anyone who wants to take advantage of Li Zhibai or try to fool him will have to get past him first.
Lin Suyang is too lazy to say any insincere nice things to you.
He ignored all of Tian Ling's agent's explanations and said only, "If I find out again that you are secretly doing something behind my back to try to get ahead, Tian Ling will be blacklisted from now on. She will be barred from all of Li Zhibai's future projects and will not be allowed to participate."
After making the threat, Lin Suyang didn't bother to listen to the other party's explanation and hung up the phone directly.
-
Shortly after the day's event concluded, a media outlet suddenly broke an anonymous rumor:
Li Zhibai's agent is autocratic and has offended many people in the industry, unknowingly making many enemies for Li Zhibai.
Then, the media outlet cited this fashion event as an example.
"Several celebrities wanted to interact with Li Zhibai at this fashion event. For a fashion event, this would be beneficial for the celebrities, the brands, and the event organizers. Even Li Zhibai needs regular exposure and buzz."
"However, when several celebrity teams proposed collaborations, they were all firmly rejected by Lin Suyang, the agent. Not only did he reject them, but Lin Suyang also humiliated these celebrities, saying that they were too low-class and not worthy of discussing collaborations with Li Zhibai."
"Actually, whether or not to cooperate is just a normal business transaction. But nothing lasts forever. While Li Zhibai is at the height of his career, his agent, Lin Suyang, is making a lot of enemies outside. Won't others hold these things against Li Zhibai? Under these circumstances, shouldn't Li Zhibai be more careful and change agents?"
……
On Weibo, this incident attracted the attention of many people who follow entertainment news.
This has also generated some public opinion. Many of Li Zhibai's fans are genuinely worried that his manager will ruin his reputation, and they left messages in Li Zhibai's comment section, urging him to take this matter seriously and not be fooled by Lin Suyang.
However, the comments in Lin Suyang's comment section were not so polite.
Many of Li Zhibai's fans are demanding the so-called truth.
Moreover, some extremists used threatening language to force Lin Suyang to resign voluntarily and not to cause Li Zhi any trouble.
Lin Suyang was stunned when he saw these.
His subconscious reaction was: Are Tian Ling and her agent really that stupid?
Just then, Tian Ling's agent called: "President Lin, we didn't do this. I've also confirmed with Tian Ling, and she didn't do it either. We don't have the guts to do such a thing, really."
Lin Suyang believed it.
It wasn't that he was overconfident, but rather that doing so would not benefit Tian Ling or her management team at all.
Tian Ling is an artist on the rise, and with the platform providing resources behind her, she has no need to make a major enemy at this time.
Unless they believe that this matter will deal a devastating blow to Li Zhibai and Lin Suyang.
Of course, one-sided accounts cannot be trusted.
Lin Suyang said nothing, but silently investigated who was behind this incident.
Swallows leave their mark as they fly by.
No one can perfectly hide behind someone else and think they have left no trace.
-
"These are turbulent times," Lu Yanhe commented.
“Brother Su Yang got a lot of flak.” Li Zhibai laughed. “I originally wanted to stand up and say a few words, but Brother Su Yang wouldn’t allow it.”
Lu Yanhe: "If you stand up and explain at this time, you'll only make things worse. Your fans will just think you've been misled."
"Sometimes, I really want to talk to my fans and ask them to believe in the principle of letting professionals do professional things and not to point fingers casually. But then again, I'm afraid that saying this will really hurt the feelings of some fans who genuinely want the best for me. I used to think that some haters were just pretending to be doing this in the name of doing what's best for me, but I later found out that it's not like that at all. There are really some fans who genuinely think they are doing this for my own good."
"You never used to care about these things. Where did that arrogant, cocky guy go?" Lu Yanhe joked.
Li Zhi shook his head calmly, "Gone."
At this moment, the two are sitting in an indoor café in New York City, enjoying a coffee and a chat on this free afternoon.
"If Yan Liang were here too, that would be great."
"He's such a workaholic, he's basically always on set." Li Zhibai shook his head and said with emotion, "He finally had a vacation, and then he agreed to play a cameo role in Director Su's movie."
Lu Yanhe: "He has always been the hardest working one among us. Have you forgotten his habit of getting up at six o'clock every morning without fail to go for a morning run?"
"I had completely forgotten about it until you mentioned it. Is he still like this now?"
“I don’t know either, you’ll have to ask him,” Lu Yanhe laughed. “He’s so busy right now, he probably can’t do it, right? But he probably goes to the gym often.”
"Tsk." Li Zhibai shook his head. "Too curly, I can't stand it."
“What can’t you stand? You’ve never been involved before,” Lu Yanhe said.
“I’ve never been physically affected, but I’ve always been mentally affected,” Li Zhibai emphasized. “It’s like a struggling student facing pressure from a top student. Even if you’re a student who always gets the lowest score, do you think you won’t feel any pressure just because you see a top student studying hard?”
Lu Yanhe pursed his lips speechlessly.
Li Zhibai: "We will also be filming the second spin-off movie of 'The Gold Rush' next month."
“Sure,” Lu Yanhe said. “I think this series is worth making. I really liked the first one; it was very well-made and entertaining.”
“Yes, you don’t know, Yan Liang has a very strict control over this series. He learned it from you. His requirement for continuing to participate in this series is that he has the right to decide on the script of the film and has a lot of say in the final editing of the film.” Li Zhibai said, “The script for the second film was directly selected from three scripts.”
"Three scripts?" Lu Yanhe asked, somewhat shocked.
Li Zhibai nodded: "Didn't expect that, did you? But it's really good. We invited three screenwriters at the same time. You know what, spending more money in the script stage can really get better ideas. It's really like a pitch."
"What about the scripts that weren't filmed?" Lu Yanhe asked curiously.
Li Zhibai said, "I don't know. I heard they're just leaving it there and will deal with it later. Anyway, they've already bought the script."
"That's a really big deal."
He thought to himself, this is a bit like a pitch for a sitcom.
Linghe is currently working on "2 Broke Girls." He is not responsible for the specific scriptwriting; he only acts as a script supervisor and consultant, setting up the main plot and character development for the entire series. Most of the episode scripts are collectively written by a team of writers.
One crucial aspect is the pitching process.
Linghe's "2 Broke Girls" credits every screenwriter who contributed to the writing of each episode at the beginning of the episode.
One of them is the lead screenwriter, and there are other contributing screenwriters.
The lead screenwriter is the one who won the pitch and is responsible for the main body of this episode's script.
Because of Linghe's emphasis on and insistence on script quality, and because Li Zhibai and Yan Liang, under Lu Yanhe's influence, also used their voice and influence in every project to help screenwriters defend the quality of the script itself, over the years, major platforms, companies, and even big-name actors have followed suit.
At least, everyone truly gave the screenwriters creative autonomy during the production stage.
Li Zhibai: "By the way, you may not know this, but the TV series '100 Yuan Cafe' hasn't even aired yet, and the director and screenwriter are already being snapped up by the platforms."
"Frenzied buying?" Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised. "What do you mean?"
"This drama received very high praise during the internal screenings." Li Zhibai proudly curled the corners of his mouth. "Very high!"
He also specifically emphasized the words "very high".
Lu Yanhe smiled.
“Congratulations. I had a feeling this drama would be good when I was making a cameo appearance,” Lu Yanhe said. “Your filming set is great. Based on my experience, with a filming set like this and after reading your script, it should be at least 70% complete. It all depends on how high the final product can be.”
Lee Ji-baek: "We are in talks to have this drama launched simultaneously in South Korea, Japan, and overseas streaming media."
"There shouldn't be any problem, right? You don't need to say anything, Ruozhi is very popular in Japan and South Korea."
The fame and number of fans that "Love Letter" brought to Zhang Ruozhi have been increasing over time.
“Yes.” Li Zhibai nodded. “Because ‘Grass on the Grass’ did very well on streaming media, everyone has high expectations for ‘100 Yen Coffee Shop’.”
When will it air? Is there a projected time?
“Let’s prepare for next summer,” Li Zhibai said. “In order to broadcast simultaneously in various different markets, there will be a lot of negotiations and communication needed in the early stages.”
“Then let’s wait for it to air.” Lu Yanhe laughed. “Then we’ll put ‘Fast & Furious’ after this show and ride its coattails.”
The subject matter of the "Fast & Furious" movie is perfectly suited to attracting male audiences. It's inherently a film primarily aimed at a male audience. While Li Zhibai has a large female fanbase and is a major influencer, his fan base is still relatively small compared to his general public.
Lu Yanhe's suggestion that "Fast & Furious" should ride the wave of "100 Yen Coffee Shop" was not a boast or a joke, but rather a possibility based on the situation.
Li Zhi nodded a hundred times.
"Okay, then I'll clear my schedule for the entire summer and focus on promoting these two movies. I won't do anything else."
Lu Yanhe asked, "When will 'Buried Alive 3' be filmed?"
"It'll be by the end of next year, that's the current arrangement," Li Zhibai said.
"The end of next year?" Lu Yanhe was a little surprised. "Why is it so long since this one? I thought that after the greater success of 'Buried 2,' the third installment would be developed at a faster pace."
Li Zhibai: "The main problem is the script. We couldn't find a good story. However, we finally found a good story for 'Buried Alive 3,' which is a crime thriller novel that happens to have the element of being buried alive. They bought the rights and are preparing to adapt it into 'Buried Alive 3.' I read the novel, and it was indeed well-written. I liked it very much, but it will take time to adapt it into a script."
"Yes, the Buried series is really well done. Each installment features entirely new characters and roles, making it a series without being repetitive."
"Have you considered returning to write the story for Buried 4?" Li Zhi asked.
Lu Yanhe shook his head. "I don't have any good ideas. If this series can still be produced when you're forty, I'll write another one for you. I do have a new story with the element of being buried alive, but the protagonist is a middle-aged man, which isn't suitable for you right now."
“You said it, then I’m going to keep making the Buried series until I’m at least forty years old.”
"I said it."
The story told by Lu Yanhe is the first part of "Sheep Without a Shepherd".
That was a really good movie.
very nice.
The dramatic tension is at its peak.
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The new book has nearly 4000 average daily subscriptions and 40 words; it's ready to be devoured now! (End of Chapter)