I am a Big Player
Chapter 167 - 165, Kunlun Sea Selection (First Update)_1

Chapter 167: 165, Kunlun Sea Selection (First Update)_1

Due to Yang Xi’s identity being exposed, Su Ruqin now disregards her work entirely to provide focused care for her, while Yang En, the actual guardian, has been reduced to an unimportant role.

Ren He agrees with Su Ruqin’s decision to establish her own media company to protect Yang Xi. At least this way, the media company is exclusive to Yang Xi, who won’t have to compete with others. And with her mother as the boss, could there be a safer company?

Moreover, Ren He heard from Yang Xi that Su Ruqin has forbidden her from participating in any additional commercial activities. To be honest, Su Ruqin isn’t exactly short on funds. Although she isn’t developing large scenic areas but chain hot spring resorts, and though her cash flow isn’t abundant, Su Ruqin is nevertheless a well-known figure domestically.

Refraining from commercial activities was also what Yang Xi wanted, and it coincided with Ren He’s philosophy: it’s better to be a talented artist, sing good songs, and be a quiet singer, rather than attend countless baffling variety shows and commercial performances.

Many artists worry that doing so will reduce their exposure and cause them to quickly fade from the spotlight. However, Ren He believes that as long as you have great talent and produce high-quality songs, there is no such thing as being passé.

Only those with subpar quality need to worry.

Another idea of Su Ruqin’s is that she has met many artists who, despite their fame and glory, clearly lacked cultural depth. Such people might become popular, but their inner world is not complete.

Therefore, she hopes that Yang Xi, in addition to singing, would still devote herself to learning her cultural courses properly. It’s not for the sake of a diploma, but to systematically receive an education and build her logical thinking skills.

It’s important to remember that Yang Xi has just graduated from junior high school. If she were to fully immerse herself in the entertainment industry now, she would miss out on a great deal.

Having been a student herself, Su Ruqin often reminisces about her school days when fatigued by work, recalling that time as a beautiful and memorable period. She doesn’t want Yang Xi to be without such fond memories.

In this way, she and Yang Xi would also have more time together during high school life. On this point, Ren He stood firmly with Su Ruqin, even though she didn’t care what he thought.

According to Su Ruqin, would that student named Ren He ever appear in her life again? How could a junior high school student bridge such a vast distance?

At this moment, as Su Ruqin thought she had succeeded, Ren He was on the phone with Yang Xi. Yang Xi was curious since he seemed to be in a good mood, as if the issue had been resolved. However much she asked, Ren He wouldn’t reveal anything, only saying it was uncertain and that he would tell her when it was done.

Ren He kept quiet because he worried about potential mishaps; after all, the world doesn’t revolve around his will. If something went amiss, it would spare Yang Xi disappointment, and he’d have time to think of other solutions.

Before he could get the Beijing quota and the invitation from No.4 Middle School, he needed to attend to Elder Zhou. Elder Zhou had specifically instructed him not to be late for the audition when he participated, and today, important members of the film crew such as the scriptwriter, director, assistant director, and others were present, along with the producer Zhou Wumeng.

The other investor wouldn’t attend since casting wasn’t of much concern to him, and the entire media company established because of Kunlun was controlled by Zhou Wumeng.

Previously, Ren He didn’t have a clear concept of what a producer or director was, having thought Zhou Wumeng would be directing. But after listening carefully to Zhou Wumeng’s introduction, he understood that they were different roles altogether.

Generally refers to the person responsible for all aspects of film or television drama production, including script planning, pre-production preparation, assembling the production team, budgeting production costs, financial auditing, supervising the filming process, post-production, assisting the investors with domestic and international distribution, and submitting entries for awards both domestically and internationally.

The producer is the overlord of the crew, the ultimate authority of the production team, holding the power to hire outstanding members as well as dismiss those who violate disciplines on set. From the inception of the film to its release, the producer is the core that runs through the entire process.

The director is said to be an old friend of Zhou Wumeng, the big name Zhang Ming from the CCTV eight o’clock slot, who is generally out of reach for most. His status in the entertainment industry is comparable to that of Zhou Wumeng in the literary world, also a grandmaster-level figure, who had promoted countless stars in recent years.

Therefore, those stars and newcomers who had already been drawn by Kunlun gravitated even more when they learned the director was him. With Zhou Wumeng serving as the producer and Zhang Ming as the director, this was shaping up to be another blockbuster TV series for the CCTV prime-time eight o’clock slot.

Over the years, the CCTV eight o’clock slot had always been a launching pad for big names!

Zhou Wumeng had mentioned wanting to invite him because the script for Kunlun was exceptionally good, which piqued his interest. He also specifically instructed Ren He to attend the casting and offer suggestions because Zhang Ming wanted it that way; moreover, Zhang Ming was keen on meeting the original author himself. There was no need to worry, as Zhang Ming was a very decent person without any odd temper.

With this, Ren He understood. Generally, casting didn’t have much to do with the author, as each profession had its own specialization. The author was an expert at constructing worlds and stories, whereas the director was an expert in the aspect of filming. So he had always been curious why he was asked to participate when he had no clue about this.

It turned out it was the director’s idea who wanted to see Ren He’s vision for the main characters.

Since Elder Zhou had said the man was easy to get along with, Ren He didn’t have to worry about any unpleasantness, and he was rather looking forward to it. After all, this was his first time entering a film crew, and if it were in his past life, even if he had joined a crew, he would have probably been managing something like distributing lunch boxes...

When the casting work commenced on that very morning, Ren He woke up early, ate something simple at the hotel, and then hurried to the crew. Elder Zhou had asked him to arrive at ten in the morning, yet he got there by nine-thirty.

This was a temporary office space rented by the crew, located in a small courtyard in a remote suburb. It was obvious that the crew was very mindful of budget control; renting this small courtyard was far cheaper than one in the city area, judging by the real estate prices of 2006.

Many people tend to care about putting on a show as it seems to grant them more face, but it seemed that neither Elder Zhou nor Zhang Ming were those kinds of people.

By now, a vast number of people were already waiting outside the courtyard, each holding a number plate they had received from the crew, representing the order in which they would participate in the open auditions.

Ren He took a quick look around and there really was all sorts of people, many handsome men and beautiful women, each dressed to impress. Even children, under the supervision of adults, came to audition, as there were roles for children in Kunlun too.

The childhood part of the main character Liang Xiao was indeed quite significant.

Then there was another group of people, not to say they were ugly, but they all had distinctive looks. These were probably the ones trying their luck, as in a martial arts series, alongside the elegant protagonists, there needed to be odd and peculiar support characters...

Just like in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", there were idol figures like Yang Guo and Little Dragon Girl, but also unsightly characters like Qiu Qianren...

Ren He felt the term "odd and peculiar" he used was particularly apt...